Following a joint review of the Community Support Service Scheme (CSSS) by the Family Conflict and Sexual Violence Policy Unit (FCSV) of Crime Wing Support Group and the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the Police will immediately refer all arrested youths aged 10 to under 18 to five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) starting from April 1 so as to provide timely assistance to them and their families.

It has been the practice of the Police to refer supervisees cautioned under the Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme to the SWD and NGOs for support services under the CSSS. Since 2012, New Territories South, New Territories North and Kowloon West Regions have been strengthening support for young people in need by providing immediate referral services successively to all arrested youths aged 10 to under 18. As a further step to enable more arrested youths to get assistance, the immediate referral mechanism has been extended to Kowloon East, Hong Kong Island and Marine Regions from April. Thus, the Police will refer immediately all arrested youths in this age group, irrespective of whether they would receive Superintendents' cautions, to the five NGOs for follow-up action under the CSSS.

On March 19 and 20, Chief Inspector of the FCSV Cheung Po-yuet and her colleagues, as well as two designated NGOs, namely the Hong Kong Playground Association and the Methodist Centre, conducted two briefings at Tseung Kwan O Police Station and Hong Kong Island Regional Crime Headquarters to explain the immediate referral mechanism, the support services and successful stories of arrested youths under the CSSS. The immediate referral mechanism not only provides timely counselling services and life planning education for the youths after their arrest, but also offers appropriate services to their families. The FCSV will continue to enhance the existing mechanism with a view to providing better protective measures and support services to the youths.