Softening the hearts of people who come into conflict with the law

The aim of this chapter is to examine how criminal justice social workers in Hong Kong add “warmness” to the criminal justice system by supporting defendants standing trials in courts and their families, supervising convicted persons serving probation orders or community service orders and delivering integrated counselling services for discharged prisoners. Through the provision of these comprehensive programmes, persons facing the criminal justice process and their families can be adequately supported. Selected programmes offered by social workers from both the government and non-governmental organisations are used as illustrative examples to demonstrate how they facilitated convicted persons’ rehabilitation and reintegration. Finally, future research directions are discussed to enhance the understanding and effectiveness of criminal justice social work services.