Hong Kong Correctional Services


Hong Kong Correctional Services is responsible for the management of prisoners and prisons in Hong Kong. The Commissioner of Correctional Services reports to the Secretary for Security.
Although the Chief Magistrate was given control over prisons in 1841, the legislation to create the department did not come into being until 1853. CSD was part of the Hong Kong Police Force until 1879 when the role of Superintendent of Victoria Gaol was created. The department has been financially independent from the Hong Kong Police Force since December 1920, when the Superintendent of Victoria Gaol was re-titled as the Superintendent of Prisons.

Ranks

As with all of the Hong Kong Disciplined Services, British-pattern rank insignia continue to be utilised, with the only change being the replacement of the St. Edward's Crown by the Bauhinia flower crest in 1997.
CSD has 28 facilities across Hong Kong ranging from maximum security prisons to rehabilitation centres.

Prisoner demographics

there was a daily average of 8,310 prisoners in the Hong Kong prison system. The prisons had an occupancy rate of 81.6 per cent, while training, detention, rehabilitation, and drug addiction treatment centres had an occupancy rate of 30.8 per cent.

Reading materials

there were about 100,000 books in the prison libraries; the percentages by language were 83% Chinese, 10% English, and 7% not in Chinese nor English. Prison authorities stated that they did not wish to buy very many books in neither official language to ensure the security of the prisons; Legco member Shiu Ka-chun criticised this rationale.

Crest

The current crest of the force was adopted in 1997 to replace most of the colonial symbols: