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A large number of youths have been arrested in incidents related to the anti-extradition law amendment bill, which is a cause for concern. To enhance the communication between the Police and youth practitioners, including teachers and social workers, the Regional Crime Prevention Office of New Territories South has launched a pioneer project to deepen youth practitioners’ understanding of the criminal judicial process. By playing the role of an arrestee in simulated activities, participants can have a better understanding of the consequences of breaking the law, thereby enabling them to provide appropriate support and assistance to their service targets.
On May 25, 14 youth practitioners were invited to join the project. They experienced the criminal judicial process through a simulated arrest. The Rehabilitation Unit of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) supported the project by introducing the life of persons in custody to the participants. The activity consisted of six parts, namely arrest, detention, enquiry, mock court hearing, visit to correctional institutions and group discussion session. During the group discussion session, police officers and youth practitioners shared their experiences with each other to enhance mutual understanding and fact-checked information circulated on the Internet.
The simulation started with a report of possession of prohibited weapons on a premises received by the Police. Having found the prohibited weapons upon searching the premises, the Police administered a caution and made an arrest. The participants could choose to be handcuffed and put on a hood.
The participants were then interviewed by the Duty Officer in the report room at the police station. They could ask the Duty Officer questions by using the “scenario cards”. The scenarios included going to the toilet, meeting a lawyer as well as requesting for meals and medication. This enabled the participants to understand the role of the Duty Officer, the rights of the arrestees and the Police’s responsibilities to the arrestees. Afterwards, the participants experienced detention at Tsing Yi Police Station. Detention facilities including hot water showering facilities and fans as well as personal hygiene packs were also shown to the participants.
In the simulated enquiry, the participants were divided into groups to take part in a simulated identification parade. They played the roles of witnesses, arrestees, actors and lawyers. Through the simulated identification parade in a real identification parade room, the fairness of Police investigation and the measures on protection of witnesses’ benefits were demonstrated.
The afternoon session of the activity took place in Stanley Prison and Ma Hang Prison. A mock court hearing was arranged for the participants. Afterwards, under the escort of CSD staff, the participants boarded the prison van and started their lives “in prison”. CSD staff explained the activities of the persons in custody including reception procedures, custody in single cells, foot drill training and meal procedures to the participants. They also arranged young rehabilitated persons to share their experiences.
The participants were given questionnaires before and after the activity for understanding their knowledge about the arrest procedures and their comments for the activities. According to the evaluation results, the project not only enhanced the participants’ knowledge of the criminal judicial process, but also increased the transparency of Police work.
Mr Ng, a participating social worker, said the project had equipped him with knowledge for answering youngsters’ questions in the future and he would recommend the project to more social workers. After the activity, he understood that the Police handled every procedure carefully in the whole detention process. The procedures would also be reviewed by different officers to ensure the accuracy. He believed that members of the public had misunderstanding of the Police detention procedures because they did not have a thorough understanding of Police work or were unfamiliar with relevant regulations. He suggested the Police to continue to introduce Police work to the public in different ways to foster police-community relations.
