Speakers
Workshop Session
“Knowledge is power” – it is indisputable that education is vital, for it equips us with skills and knowledge that is beneficial to our lives in many ways. To those who are incarcerated, access to educational opportunities can even be life-changing. It provides them with chances of upward mobility and assimilation of prosocial values. There is a vast body of literature documenting that education is a tool for reducing recidivism. In recognition of the positive impacts of education to persons in custody (PICs), the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department (HKCSD) established the Ethics College (EC) in Pak Sha Wan Correctional Institution and Lo Wu Correctional Institution in 2023. A pioneering initiative among adult institutions in HKCSD, the EC offers participating PICs a one-year full-time diploma programme in collaboration with a local university. The programme, enriched with life-wide learning activities, helps PICs cultivate positive values and obtain accredited qualifications that facilitates community reintegration. Apart from benefiting the PICs on an individual level, the establishment of the EC also enhances the sense of mission and job satisfaction among correctional staff, accentuating their role as life coaches who can contribute to the rehabilitation of PICs. Furthermore, enhancing PICs’ access to rehabilitative pursuits in a secure environment tends to reduce violence and other disciplinary problems in prisons. All in all, the founding of the EC represents a milestone of the HKCSD in its ongoing quest for supporting the rehabilitation of PICs in a safe custodial environment.