Penal system of Hong Kong
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The penal system of Hong Kong, with its colonial tradition, is responsible for carrying out criminal penalties and the supervision and rehabilitation of former prisoners.
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Hong Kong's prisons meet basic international criteria and attract less criticism than those in mainland China. After Hong Kong's transition to Chinese control in 1997, its prison system retained the basic lines of the British system. The system's personnel is distinguished by its professionalism and the vast majority holds to high ethical and moral standards. The prisons do not have the crowding and insanitary conditions usual in Asia (in 2013 the average occupancy level was 80% of capacity, down from 96% in 2008), and the overall number of inmates is steadily falling (in 1997 - 12,300, 2013 - 9,200).[1][2][3]
In 2014 Hong Kong's prisons had 8,906 inmates. 18.6% were in preliminary detention. Women made up 19.7%, adolescents of both sexes 3.4%, foreigners 26.4%. Of each 100,000 of Hong Kong's population, 123 were prisoners (by comparison: mainland China 172, Ukraine 213, Russia 470, USA 707).[4]