110
PUBLIC ORDER
and Ma Hang near Stanley Prison on Hong Kong Island-can collectively accommo- date 940 prisoners. Pik Uk opened in January 1975 and its population consists mainly of recidivists serving sentences of under 18 months. Ma Hang has a geriatric wing for the more elderly prisoners serving terms of under three years. It also caters for prisoners who have less than 18 months to serve.
Ma Po Ping Prison, on Lantau Island, was built in 1967 and was originally named Tong Fuk Prison. In 1972 its role was changed to that of a drug addiction treatment centre. It reverted back to a prison under its present name in May 1975. The majority of the 600 inmates are employed inside the prison on carpentry, laundry work, tailoring, fibreglass moulding and rattan furniture making. Outside working parties are largely engaged on projects designed to benefit the local communities.
Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre, in the New Territories, has accommodation for 120 inmates who require psychiatric treatment under conditions of special security on account of their dangerous, violent and criminal propensities. The centre is equipped to modern standards and is manned by trained staff with a consultant psychiatrist.
All female offenders are accommodated at the Tai Lam Centre for Women, near Castle Peak. It serves as a conventional prison for remand and convicted prisoners, and also has a training centre for young offenders under 21 years of age and a treatment centre for female drug dependants.
Chatham Road Centre in Kowloon accommodates young offenders who have been remanded by the courts for a report as to their suitability for a training or deten- tion centre. This institution also serves as a minimum security centre for-youngsters who have been sentenced to less than two years.
Training Centres
At the end of 1975, building work was completed on a maximum security cor- rectional institution which is to have the dual role of a training centre and a prison. The Pik Uk Maximum Security Correctional Centre became operational early in 1976, catering for young offenders who require close supervision.
Besides the Pik Uk Centre, there are two medium security centres on Hong Kong Island. Cape Collinson Training Centre caters for the 18 to 21 age group while Tai Tam Gap Training Centre accommodates those between 14 and 17. These centres are run on highly disciplined lines and operate on a half-day school and half-day work basis. Inmates are taught a wide range of crafts-from tailoring and carpentry to building maintenance and automobile repair. Those committed to training centres have to serve a minimum of six months to a maximum of three years. No inmate is released until he has a job to go to or arrangements have been made to further his education. Release is followed by a compulsory period of three years' supervision under an aftercare officer.
Detention Centre
The Sha Tsui Detention Centre on Lantau Island provides another alternative to imprisonment for delinquents aged between 14 and 21. This centre is intended for the first offender, with the emphasis on strict discipline, hard work and few privileges.