bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

SOCIAL workers and academics have criticised police plans to reintroduce a triad renunciation scheme.

   They say distrust and fear of the force will stop teenagers joining the programme.

  Mr Tony Pang Shing-fook of the Society for the Rehabilitation of Offenders and Professor Nelson Chow Wing-sun from the University of Hongkong's Social Work Department have warned police to think carefully before reintroducing the scheme.

  Otherwise, they say, it could end up a failure like the last triad renunciation scheme in March 1991.

  Police are planning to reintroduce the scheme this year in a bid to encourage young triad members to give up gang membership.

  Although the exact nature of the scheme is still being worked out, Fight Crime Committee member Mr Justein Wong said it would warn counsel and clear the records of repentant young offenders instead of sending them to court.

  But Mr Pang warned ''distrust and misunderstanding accounted for the lukewarm response to the old scheme''. While he welcomed the new renunciation scheme, he said triad members were suspicious of police sincerity.

  ''Some refused to join because they feared the police would make them traitors by using their information for further arrests of fellow gang members.''   He said it would be difficult to overcome teenage triad suspicions if the programme was run by the police alone. He suggested a special group be established to do the follow-up counselling.

  Professor Chow agreed that it would be better to have a third party rather than law-enforcers carrying out the renunciation scheme in order to reduce the fears of participants.

  He said the last scheme failed partly because it attracted more offenders already in prison rather than those who had not yet been charged.

  ''I think the new scheme will have an edge over the old one [if] it focuses on youngsters.

  ''A lot of teenagers join a gang without being aware of the consequences.

  ''The scheme will help them give up gangs before they actually engage in criminal behaviour.''   Professor Chow suggested the police should also consider simplifying renunciation procedures. One reason for scrapping the old scheme was the huge administrative costs.

  The last triad renunciation scheme was started by the Security Branch in December 1988 and ended in March 1991 after meeting with little success.

  A total of 779 people had their triad membership records cleared under the scheme while 10 were rejected on grounds of insincerity, concealing facts and being unwilling to take oaths.

  About 40 per cent of the applicants aged between 11 and 20 were referred by the Correctional Services Department and more than 90 per cent of them were junior office-bearers in their triads.

  The old scheme cost the Government $5 million and participants amounted to one per cent of the estimated triad population of 80,000 at that time.

  Police are planning to use plain-clothes officers to counsel the young offenders and will also pay them regular visits to make sure they do not get involved with triads again.

  Offenders' records will be cleared after three years if no further offences are reported.

  Meanwhile, a new set of crime information forms are to be distributed in 200 schools in the territory.

  The forms will be reviewed and revised in six months after which they will be introduced in all Hongkong schools.



Teenage triad plan comes under fire