Criminal justice in Hong Kong / Carol Jones with Jon Vagg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jones, Carol A. G.

Contributor:

Vagg, Jon.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Criminal justice, Administration of--China--Hong Kong--History--Sources.

Criminal justice, Administration of.

Juvenile delinquency--China--Hong Kong--History--Sources.

Juvenile delinquency.

History.

China--Hong Kong.

Genre:

Sources.

Physical Description:

xii, 659 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge-Cavendish, 2007.

Summary:

How were Hong Kong's criminal justice institutions and practices formed? What has been its experience of law and order? How has Hong Kong's status as between 'East' and 'West' affected its social, political and legal institutions?

Hong Kong in the twenty-first century is known as a world city, a global financial centre and, for some, the epitome of free market capitalism. Despite its phenomenal economic success and rapid 'modernisation' it has nevertheless been associated with social stability, political tranquillity and one of the lowest crime rates in the world. A clean, safe, modern metropolis, it defies theories of the relationship between crime and 'development'. A liberal capitalist society, it also defied the supposed trajectory of modernity by reverting, in 1997, to Chinese Communist sovereignty.

According to the classic narrative of colonialism, Hong Kong - city of crime, vice, corruption, drugs and lawlessness - was made safe and successful by British rule of law and criminal justice. Drawing on original documents as well as academic commentary, this book attempts to deconstruct this story. It challenges the orientalist and orthodox versions of Hong Kong's past, and seeks to place crime and criminal justice in their wider socio-political context. It argues that, in both the colonial and post-colonial periods, it is politics, rather than crime rates, that have been the main driver of criminal justice.

This careful examination of the criminal justice system in Hong Kong suggests that any understanding of the current system requires dialogue with, and an understanding of, rich and complex narratives of history. It contains a wealth of archival material, statistical data on crime and criminal justice, as well as an analysis of how perceptions of the 'crime problem' have altered over time.

Contents:

Colonial rule 1841 to Second World War

Hong Kong : the early years

The Hong Kong police

Hong Kong's internal security

Civilising the natives : crimes, courts and punishments

Colonial rule, Second World War to 1997

The Second World War, the Japanese occupation and The '1946 outlook'

Re-establishing the police, 1945-50

Crime and courts 1945-1960

The 'red menace' : post-war instabilities

Corrections, juveniles and 'disciplinary welfare'

Building order and stability in the 1950s

The 1956 riots

Post-1956 : paramilitarism, hearts, and minds and political policing

The China factor : the early 1960s

Policing and crime in the mid-1960s

The usual suspects : triads, drugs, gambling and corruption

The 1966 Star Ferry and 1967 riots

The post-riot years

The 1970s : re-forming the state and its citizens

Crime, policing, and punishment in the 1970s

The 1980s : crime, moral panics and 'ungovernability'

The 1980s : discovering juvenile delinquency

The transition years : 1990-1997

Images of crime and juvenile delinquency : 1990-1997

The first ten years of the Hksar, 1997-2007

Convergence, continuities and change : 1997-2007

Crime and delinquency 1997-2007.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [631]-644) and index.

ISBN:

9781845680381

1845680383

OCLC:

123232396