Referral system hits hurdle
Mongkok assistant district commander Stephen Chalkley, in charge of the recent high-profile Mongkok raids, agrees that more should be done to help juvenile drug abusers.
So in March, Mr Chalkley and the Hong Kong Playground Association initiated the idea of a referral system of juveniles picked up by police to the group's social workers. The programme, Open Walker, later approved by Mongkok's district commander Sham Wai-kin, started operating in June.
But so far, no referrals have been made.
Lee Tat-wai, of the Hong Kong Playground Association, said police attempted to refer cases several times, but as the raids occurred in the middle of the night, no social workers had been available. Mr Lee said his team would liaise with police for better co-ordination.
Mr Chalkley said police would inform the social workers of any new cases. But, he pointed out, it was purely up to the young people as police had no authority to force them into counselling.
Though he said his teams were aware of the arrangement, Mongkok's district operations officer, Tony Li Kam-piu, said usually those youngsters found to have taken drugs were just sent home.
