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Victoria Prison is not only a landmark building in Hong Kong, but its first prison, having seen the territory's 160 odd years of development. Together with the adjoining Central Police Station and the Central Magistracy, it was the centre of Hong Kong﷿s criminal justice system in the early years, the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S.K. Lee said today (March 12).
The Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Pang Sung-yuen accompanied Mr Lee to officiate at the farewell parade by Correctional Services Department (CSD) to mark the decommissioning of Victoria Prison.
The event is part of the programme included in the ﷿Victoria Prison Decommissioning Open Day﷿ jointly organised by CSD and The Community Chest of Hong Kong.
Speaking at a ceremony, Mr Lee said that Victoria Prison was used to accommodate felons such as pirates and bandits during the early years of the British colony. When the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong during the Second World War, most of its building were destroyed. After the end of the war, the cluster of buildings were repaired and reopened as a prison.
When Hong Kong was declared a port of first asylum for Vietnamese refugees in the 1980s, the prison became a transit and repatriation centre. After the boat people problem was solved, Victoria Prison was used for housing persons under custody and detainees prior to their repatriation or deportation.
䩕The CSD has improved its services all these years so that the pattern of prison management in Hong Kong is in line with the internationally accepted norm.
䩕After decommissioning, Victoria Prison will be re-developed into a tourist attraction. Every bit of the Prison will be nostalgically remembered by the public and become part of the collective memory among the members of the Correctional Services. It is the dedicated and devoted service of all CSD staff that has made Victoria Prison glitter in history, 蒅 Mr Lee added.
Correctional services have evolved from the primitive modus operandi focused on punishment and deterrence in the old days, to the present system of punishment and correction being equally important and characterised by a two-pronged approach of quality custody and excellent rehabilitative services, Mr Pang Sung-yuen elaborated on the improvement of its services.
Today﷿s correctional work aimed at 䩕through care蒅 rehabilitative services, Mr Pang added, and correctional officers were no longer confined to prison.
Instead, they entered society and established partnership with various social sectors to fulfil social responsibilities mutually by helping rehabilitated offenders reintegrate into society.
After the Second World War, the concept of rehabilitation emerged in the Western world, which also affected the penal system of Hong Kong, Mr Pang said.
In 1953, Hong Kong set up the first Training Centre after the British system and inmates were provided with half-day education and half-day vocational training.
In 1972, a Detention Centre was established for young male offenders who committed crime for the first time. The Centre was characterised by the inmates' short imprisonment periods, strict discipline and having deterrent effect.
In 1982, the Prisons Department was renamed the Correctional Services Department (CSD), Mr Pang said.
In 1998, the Rehabilitation Division was formed to co-ordinate all relevant services and re-deploy manpower and resources for the offenders﷿ rehabilitation work.
Today, CSD had drawn up several initiatives to solicit support for rehabilitated offenders and the public were actively encouraged to take part in rehabilitation work directly, Mr Pang said.
Programmes for the day also included band performances by Cape Collinson Marching Band and Tai Tam Gap Girls﷿ Pipe Band, as well as a reception for guests.
Ends/Sunday, March 12, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:41
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