ABSTRACT
Hard work was a key component of the Hong Kong government’s approach to social welfare. In its penal establishments it combined with welfarism to produce a distinct brand of ‘disciplinary welfare. The administration of probation for juveniles, and plans to extend it to adult offenders, was however delayed by the fact that Hong Kong needed to import a qualified probation officer from the United Kingdom (UK). By 1956 it employed a staff of ten officers whose job it was to provide courts with background reports on ‘mendicants’, supervise juveniles, oversee camps, welfare centres and hostels, and investigate cases. Delinquency amongst juveniles and young persons in Hong Kong does not on the surface constitute a problem which can compare to that of large towns and seaports in the UK. Most juveniles appear before the courts of Hong Kong and Kowloon on charges of illegal hawking.
