An Overview Of Juvenile Drug Offender Rehabilitation In Hong Kong – Implications For Law Enforcement

Abstract

To combat the problem of juvenile drug abuse, the Chief Executive appointed the Secretary for Justice to lead an inter-departmental task force in formulating a holistic strategy (including preventive education and publicity, treatment and rehabilitation, law enforcement, research and external co-operation). This paper therefore looks into Hong Kong’s efforts to-date in applying a multi-pronged approach to the issue, the level of compliance with international human rights standards and the Riyadh Guidelines. Juvenile delinquency is an area of great social concern, with penology giving way to rehabilitation in an effort to reintegrating young offenders into the community. Furthermore, the government has established close partnerships with non-government organizations. In 2003, protection was extended further, by the raising of the age of the doli incapax (age of criminal incapacity), shielding young offenders from the scope of criminal liability. Guidelines for law enforcers on handling juvenile deviancy have the potential of increasing the quality and effectiveness of delivering solutions within the existing framework.