Hong Kong's judges have ordered tens of thousands of people convicted of crimes to do community service since the scheme was first introduced as an alternative to prison nearly two decades ago.
While observers agree the programme has largely worked, judges have little oversight and few guidelines in deciding who should get a community service order. The government has done little research to determine the effectiveness of the programme in keeping those convicted out of jail in the future.
The judiciary department declined to answer questions about criteria used to determine whether a convicted person is suitable for a community service order.
'As sentencing is an exercise of the courts' independent judicial power, it is inappropriate for the judiciary to comment,' a spokeswoman said. 'When setting sentencing levels, the courts take into account all relevant factors.'
Chuk Wing-hung, an instructor in Chinese University's department of social work, said there was room for improvement. 'The community service should be related to crimes the offenders have committed. Instead of sending drink-driving offenders to paint walls, they could be teaching children how to properly cross the roads,' Chuk said.
The best clue as to the intent of the orders comes from a report of the Law Reform Commission, which first studied the issue on behalf of the government. 'The likely offender who would be suitable for an order would be between 17 and 30 years of age from a settled address and stable background, including stable employment,' the commission wrote in its 1983 recommendations.