Nurturing Pillars of Society: Understanding and Working with the Young Generation in Hong Kong

11 - Handling of Youth Crime in Hong Kong

11 Handling of Youth Crime in Hong Kong Depending on the accepted theories and paradigms as to the causes of youth crime, justice systems vary from one society to another. A paradigm is a lens through which to view a problem and a framework for thinking about its solution (Zehr, 1997). Conventional paradigms of youth crime and its punishment, it has been argued, are one-dimensional. They focus only on offenders, whether they are rehabilitative and treatment-oriented or retributive and punishment-oriented. The rehabilitative paradigm focuses on the treatment of individual offenders. It has a deterministic view of them and considers an offence as a sign of poor socialisation. Intervention is thus an effort to rectify social deviance through actions suited to the offender’s problems and needs. The retributive paradigm, by contrast, focuses on condemning offenders. It takes a classical view, as we have already described this, and considers an offence is a personal choice. Intervention is intended to deter deviance through actions a young offender will fear. When young people in Hong Kong are convicted of crimes, either by admitting them or by evidence presented in court, they will be handled by law-enforcement organisations such as the Hong Kong Police Force, the Social Welfare Department (SWD), or the Correctional Services Department (CSD). We can postulate a tariff for handling youth crimes, as shown in Diagram 4. 124 Nurturing Pillars of Society CSD (e.g. Detention Centre [DC], Rehabilitation Centre [RC], Training Centre [TC] & Prison) Criminalisation SWD (e.g. Probation, Community Service Order Process [CSO] & Homes) Police (e. g. Police Superintendent’s Discretion Scheme [PSDS]) Family/School/Specialised groups Diagram 4 Tariff of handling youth crime The above diagram illustrates a criminalisation process for young delinquents. Without intermediate intervention, the crimes they commit become gradually more serious, and the youths finally become adult criminals (Lee, 1990 & 2005a). The organisations involved shift from informal to formal, with incarceration in the institutions of the CSD at the end of the process. But before considering how young delinquents are handled in Hong Kong, we must first introduce some prevalent juvenile justice models. Then we can analyse Hong Kong’s model. Various models represent various beliefs and assumptions about the causes of youth crime. ■ Models of Juvenile Justice Bringing young offenders to justice is a way to deter them from committing more crimes. We can identify six models for accomplishing this goal. They are the child welfare model, the corporatist model, the modified justice model, the justice model, the crime control model, and the restorative justice (RJ) model (Bartollas and Miller, 1998; Johnstone and van Ness, 2006; Whitehead and Lab, 1990; Winterdyk, 1997). The first five progress from a welfare orientation to a crime-control orientation. The last has a relatively short history, extending back over only the past two decades. However, with declining faith in both the retributive and rehabilitative approaches to crime and punishment, the RJ model of criminal justice is increasingly the preferred alternative (Bazemore, 1998; Johnstone, 2002, 2003; Maxwell et al., 2000; Morris and Young, 2000; Sullivan and Tifft, 2001). Braithwaite (1989) advanced this model. We will consider it later—and also underscore the possibility of implementing it in Hong Kong. What follows is a review of the first five models. Handling of Youth Crime in Hong Kong 125 The child welfare model As its name suggests, the child welfare model focuses on the welfare needs of individual offenders. It assumes that the state is responsible for the well-being of youthful delinquents. Treatment and rehabilitation are oriented toward the enhancement of the social functioning of young offenders. Interventions address the medical, psychological, educational, and social needs of young offenders. The focus of interventions is on the individual young offenders as well as their families, social environments, and so on. The corporatist model The corporatist model also emphasises the needs of the individual young offenders and is also treatment-oriented. But in addition, it assumes assessing youth crime involves not only judicial considerations but also the social, emotional, and educational needs of young offenders. This model also favours intervention by way of inter-agency cooperation and stresses an integrated approach in providing services for at-risk youth. The modified justice model This model is a variant of the justice model, as described immediately below. It emphasises both treatment, in line with the child welfare model, and punishment. It also stresses that the social and emotional needs of...