Number of prisoners in Hong Kong hits record low

Prison chiefs are struggling to explain why the number of criminals and suspects locked up in Hong Kong's jails has fallen to fewer than 9,000, a record low.

At the same time, suspects are spending significantly more time on remand compared with three years ago. In 2008, the average time a person spent in remand was 60 days. This jumped to 80 days in 2010, and new Correctional Services Department figures show that last year, it was 99.5 days.

As of June, the penal population was 8,906, made up of 7,249 inmates - those in prisons, drug treatment and rehabilitation centres - and 1,657 people on remand awaiting trial. In 2004, the number was 13,138, with 1,555 people on remand.

Each year over the past decade, Hong Kong's overall penal population has decreased, while the number of inmates in drug addiction treatment centres has risen, suggesting a less draconian approach to sentencing.

Possible reasons for the downward trend include fewer mainlanders overstaying their visas and more non-custodial sentences being passed, especially on young, first-time offenders.

A departmental spokeswoman said it was hard to explain the trend. "The penal population depends on a number of social, economic, demographic and crime factors and the changing trend cannot be fully accounted for without an in-depth investigation," she said.