It is reported that the strains of overcrowding are particularly evident with regard to unconvicted prisoners-prisoners who are presumed innocent and are supposed to be treated as such. In particular, the unremitting idleness of such prisoners, a problem that the delegation observed in every facility that houses them, is of serious concern.

Recent reports also state that the Hong Kong prison system maintains unnecessarily stringent controls over inmates' contacts with the outside world. Among their adverse effects, these restrictions bode poorly for prisoners' future readjustment back into society, when they will need the social connection of family and friends. For many prisoners, visits are too infrequent and too short. Moreover, prisoners in higher security facilities, who are only allowed "closed" visits, are separated from their visitors by a plexiglass barrier and must speak to them via a telephone/intercom system. The resulting ban on all personal contact does have the intended effect of keeping out drugs and other contraband, which are at the root of many serious problems in other prison systems, but it exacts a high cost, particularly in relations between parents and their children.