Hong Kong – Rehabilitation project of CSD wins international correctional award (with photos)

     ​A rehabilitation project of the Correctional Services Department (CSD), “Project JET”, has been awarded this year’s Community Corrections Award, an excellence award by the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA).
      
     The Deputy Commissioner of Correctional Services (Operations and Strategic Development), Mr Ng Chiu-kok, led a delegation to attend the ICPA Annual Conference held in Singapore from September 1 to 6 and received the Award at the award presentation ceremony today (September 4).
      
     The ICPA presents correctional excellence awards to recognise individuals, organisations and projects that have achieved remarkable results in the corrections profession. Among them, the Community Corrections Award aims to commend exceptional work by units and projects that have supported and promoted rehabilitation work at the community level with innovative approaches.
      
     The CSD launched “Project JET” in 2022, from the employment aspect, to provide one-stop training and career development opportunities for persons in custody (PICs), encouraging them to make life planning early, make full use of their talents and contribute to society.
      
     The Project includes: (1) Life planning – providing talks and workshops on life planning for PICs in correctional institutions; (2) In-centre training – providing relevant professional training for PICs to master the required work skills; (3) Post-release internship – providing post-release internship opportunities for PICs who have completed relevant training; (4) Formal employment – offering full-time employment to rehabilitated persons with good performance during the internship; and (5) Mentoring scheme – matching rehabilitated persons with suitable mentors as life coaches to provide guidance on work skills and life education during the internship and formal employment periods.
      
     Mr Ng said, “The CSD is honoured to receive the Award from the ICPA. The Award not only recognises the Department’s efforts in launching new rehabilitation services, but also enables our international counterparts to understand the professionalism of Hong Kong’s correctional work. We will continue to optimise our rehabilitation programmes and strengthen collaboration with various stakeholders to help PICs smoothly reintegrate into society and start a new life after release.”
      
     The ICPA was established in 1998 to promote international co-operation in the corrections profession, and to promote the implementation of humane and effective correctional policies and practices. Members of the ICPA include public sectors, non-governmental organisations, academic institutions and correctional professionals around the world. The Annual Conference is a flagship event of the ICPA, which includes plenary sessions, workshops and visits to promote the development of the corrections profession through exchanges between corrections professionals and international criminal justice experts.