Psycho-Criminological Perspective of Criminal Justice in Asia ─ Research and Practices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Beyond

This book offers both theoretical and practical examinations of the psycho-criminology of criminal justice in Asia, with particular emphasis on the Hong Kong and Singapore contexts. It is designed to present the current state of the field, which addresses key topics in three major sub-areas – policing and legal system, offender rehabilitation and treatment, and research and future directions. Written by academics with extensive research experience in their respective topics and senior ranking practitioners in their fields, topics include psychologists’ involvement in different aspects of forensic investigation, police emotional reactions to major incidents, the application of psychological approaches in developing offender rehabilitation and treatment modules to address different offender’s criminogenic needs, and legal issues related to the insanity defence, fitness to plead, the jury system, and the procedural justice and legitimacy. An important reference for post-graduate courses, this book will be of special interest to criminologists and psychologists working in forensic settings, mental health professionals, policy-makers, police personnel, prison officials, and legal executives.

Chapters include:

1. Youth gang offenders in Singapore

2. Offender rehabilitation: the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department

3. Juries as decision makers in East Asian judicial systems: Hong Kong, the Mainland China, South Korea, and Japan

4. The psychology of violent extremism: what we know and what else we need to do

Heng Choon (Oliver) CHAN, PhD, is an assistant professor of criminology at City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR. He was the recipient of the 2012 Outstanding Criminology Ambassador Award presented by the University of South Florida, and the honorary title – Early Career Award – by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) in 2014. His research focuses on criminological issues related to the Asian population; and violent and sexual offending topics (e.g., sexual homicide and offender profiling). Chan published widely on these topics and presented in numerous academic conferences. His most recent single-authored research monograph, "Understanding sexual homicide offenders: An integrated approach" is published by Palgrave Macmillan (2015). Chan is an associate editor of International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology and editorial review board member of Advancing Corrections Journal (the official journal of the International Corrections and Prisons Association).

Samuel M. Y. HO, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR. He is an honorary professor of the University of Hong Kong and the honorary advisor of the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department Women Offender Working Group. His primary research interest is in traumatology and resilience, in developing an in-depth knowledge about the factors that facilitate adjustments to life-threatening illnesses (e.g., cancer) and traumatic events (e.g., infectious disease epidemic). As a registered clinical psychologist and a researcher, Ho benefits of conducting basic research to help understanding of applied problems as well as taking applied issues for explorations in empirical research. Ho has been conducting invited training workshops and presentations regularly in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Europe, and North America to share his research findings and clinical expertise.