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intended for the first offender or those with a short criminal history. The emphasis is on strict discipline, hard work and few privileges. The centre has achieved highly satisfactory results in the five years since it was opened. Sentences in Sha Tsui range from a minimum of one month to a maximum of six months, depending on the in- mate's progress. Release is followed by 12 months' compulsory supervision under an aftercare officer.
The Young Adult Unit, which began operating in Sha Tsui in August, 1977, has accommodation for 70 detainees aged between 21 and 25. Although run separately, the unit's programme is similar to that used in the centre - strenuous manual labour, and drill and deportment training. Emphasis is put on strict discipline and impeccable conduct at all times. Those who are medically unfit or who have previously been in a penal institution are not accepted.
Remedial education, and individual and group counselling also form part of the programme. A sentence runs from a minimum of three months to a maximum of 12 months, depending on the detainee's response to the training programme. Release is followed by a period of 12 months' aftercare.
Drug Addiction Treatment Centres
The Prisons Department has the reputation of running very effective and successful treatment and rehabilitation programmes for drug addicts. Its success in this field is widely recognised.
Before the addiction treatment centres were pioneered back in 1958, more than 90 per cent of those sent to prison were found to be drug dependants. This figure has now dropped to 40.9 per cent. The five centres run by the department provide the courts with an alternative to imprisoning drug dependants found guilty of minor offences, such as possession of drugs for their own consumption.
The Tai Lam Addiction Treatment Centre, along with the two centres on Hei Ling Chau and the Tong Fuk Centre on Lantau Island, have accommodation for a total of 1,562 male inmates. All female drug dependants are treated at the Tai Lam Centre for Women.
The enactment of the Drug Addiction Treatment Centres Ordinance has greatly reduced the number of drug addicts sentenced to imprisonment when simply found in possession of drugs for their own consumption. Other drug dependants convicted of minor offences, which are not always connected with drugs, also have been able to benefit from the treatment and rehabilitation programmes provided in these centres. The programme consists of medical care, followed by an active life with plenty of constructive work in an outdoor environment. Results show that drug addicts can be restored to health quickly and, once they have regained their strength, can tackle some of the hardest tasks.
An excellent example of this is a venture undertaken by young inmates from the Tong Fuk Treatment Centre. In a remote corner of Hei Ling Chau, they have trans- formed three old bungalows on an overgrown hillside into another treatment centre catering for those aged under 21. This ongoing project also has enabled the department to use Tong Fuk to treat those aged between 21 and 25 in a special programme.
The existing facilities at the adult centre on Hei Ling Chau are being expanded and will eventually have accommodation for 1,250 inmates, compared with the 762 at present.