BUILDING DISASTER RESILIENCE OF
HONG KONG
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The Correctional Services Department, in its annual review, said today that the number of admissions to correctional institutions – including convicted individuals, remand prisoners and detainees – increased 7% to 18,438 in 2024, as against 2023. At a press conference, Commissioner of Correctional Services Wong Kwok-hing said the average daily penal population at correctional institutions increased significantly to 9,550 people in 2024, representing an increase of 12% from 2023. The average daily occupancy rate rose from 75% to 85%. Moreover, the average daily number of remand prisoners hit a new record high since 2000 of 3,650, up from 3,096 in 2023. In response to the increasing population of remand prisoners, the department has deployed part of the capacity of individual correctional institutions to admit remand prisoners and alleviate reception centre overcrowding. The department has also commenced the in-situ partial redevelopment of Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre, which will increase its capacity for admitting adult male remand prisoners in the long run. The commissioner said that the number of admissions to correctional institutions owing to involvement in offences relating to “black-clad violence” and breaches of the National Security Law or Safeguarding National Security Ordinance was 410, down 57% compared with 2023. The number of individuals in custody owing to such offences or breaches at the end of 2024 stood at 591, a decrease of 24% compared to a year earlier. To address the special rehabilitation needs of such individuals, in 2024 the department continued to launch diversified rehabilitation programmes under Project PATH. These included a flag-raising and foot drill competition aimed at enhancing the inmates’ sense of national identity. In early 2024, the department launched Rehabilitation Dog Services, providing animal-assisted therapies to individuals in custody, at Lo Wu Correctional Institution and Phoenix House. Moreover, the Rehabilitation Dog Services Internship Programme implemented at Phoenix House helps halfway-house trainees build self-confidence and develop a sense of responsibility. The department also set up family therapy centres in 2024 at the Multi-purpose Family & Rehabilitation Service Centres in Tuen Mun and Sheung Shui. These provide treatment programmes for rehabilitated drug addicts under statutory supervision and rehabilitated individuals with violent tendencies or radical thoughts. In the field of education, a two-year full-time Associate of General Studies distance programme was launched by the department’s Ethics College in September, to help inaugural graduates of the college to pursue higher qualifications after obtaining the Diploma of Applied Education. The department also extended the Ethics College to Pik Uk Prison, where it provides a half-day Associate of General Studies programme and half-day vocational training for graduates of the Ethics College who are unable to complete the associate degree programme during their sentences. Meanwhile, in December the department launched an initiative called Captain Gor Union, and an accompanying mobile application, thereby establishing a membership system for the Rehabilitation Pioneer Project to recruit primary and secondary students as members. The members will be enlisted to join activities promoting national security, national education, crime prevention, and offender rehabilitation, or opposing drugs, as well as cultural exchange activities. Mr Wong revealed that the department expects to recruit about 45 correctional officers this year, adding that year-round recruitment for the post of assistant officer will continue. Furthermore, the department launched two new technology projects – “Digital Incarceration Proof” and “Chatbot Service” – at the end of last year. People may apply for Digital Incarceration Proof through the “iAM Smart” mobile application, instead of having to visit the department’s headquarters in person. Meanwhile, the deployment of the chatbot “Ching Ching” is aimed at raising efficiency in the handling of public enquiries. In November, the department enhanced its international connections by hosting the 42nd Asian & Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators. About 140 correctional chiefs and representatives from 30 Asia-Pacific countries and regions attended the conference.
At
7 p.m.
at the Hong Kong Observatory :
Air temperature : 17 degrees Celsius
Relative Humidity : 86 per cent
The air temperatures at other places were:
Hong Kong Observatory17 degrees ;
King's Park16 degrees ;
Wong Chuk Hang17 degrees ;
Ta Kwu Ling17 degrees ;
Lau Fau Shan18 degrees ;
Tai Po17 degrees ;
Sha Tin18 degrees ;
Tuen Mun19 degrees ;
Tseung Kwan O16 degrees ;
Sai Kung17 degrees ;
Cheung Chau16 degrees ;
Chek Lap Kok19 degrees ;
Tsing Yi18 degrees ;
Shek Kong18 degrees ;
Tsuen Wan Ho Koon17 degrees ;
Tsuen Wan Shing Mun Valley18 degrees ;
Hong Kong Park16 degrees ;
Shau Kei Wan16 degrees ;
Kowloon City17 degrees ;
Happy Valley17 degrees ;
Wong Tai Sin18 degrees ;
Stanley16 degrees ;
Kwun Tong16 degrees ;
Sham Shui Po17 degrees ;
Kai Tak Runway Park16 degrees ;
Yuen Long Park19 degrees ;
Tai Mei Tuk17 degrees .
Communicable Diseases Watch Volume 21, Number 1, Weeks 52 - 4 (December 22, 2024 – January 25, 2025)
Communicable Diseases Watch Volume 21, Number 1, Weeks 52 - 4 (December 22, 2024 – January 25, 2025)
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