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PUBLIC ORDER
The Sha Tsui Detention Centre (accommodation 220) is a medium security centre with two sections one for 17 to 20 year-olds and the other for those aged 21 to 24. In order to prevent overcrowding at Sha Tsui and to cater for the 14 to 16 year-olds in a separate institution, a second centre called Nei Kwu Chau Detention Centre, situated on the island of Hei Ling Chau, opened in November. In both centres, inmates undergo a programme which has been styled as 'short sharp shock' treatment for first offenders or those with a short criminal history. The emphasis is on strict discipline, hard physical effort and few privileges. Sentences range from one month to six months for those under 21 years, and three months to 12 months for those aged 21 to 24, followed by 12 months' compulsory after-care. Discharge within these limits is at the discretion of the Com- missioner of Prisons and occurs when it is considered the inmate has achieved the maximum benefit from the programme.
After-care supervision is a vital aspect of both the training and detention centre programmes. The officer on after-care duties builds up a working relationship with an inmate and his family during the inmate's time in a centre, and then visits him regularly after release. On these visits the officer acts as a guide and counsellor, while checking that the person is obeying the conditions of his supervision order.
The success rate for young offenders under 21 defined as the percentage who have completed the supervision period, which is three years for a training centre and 12 months for a detention centre, without subsequent reconviction is 51 per cent for the training centres and 95 per cent for the detention centres.
Since the inception of the detention centre programme for young adults in August, 1977, a total of 159 detainees have been admitted for corrective training. Of these, 22 have been conditionally discharged on review of their sentence or as a result of additional charges. Another 88 have completed their training and been released under supervision; of these 20 successfully completed their period of supervision.
Drug Addiction Treatment
The Prisons Department runs the only compulsory drug addiction treatment and rehabilita- tion programme in Hong Kong. This programme provides the courts with an alternative to imprisonment for drug dependants found guilty of minor offences.
The two addiction treatment centres at Hei Ling Chau and Tai Lam, which now incorporates the young inmates' centre, provide accommodation for 1,516 male in- mates. A section of the Tai Lam Centre for Women is also set aside for drug addiction treatment.
The treatment programme, enacted by law in 1969, is based on discipline, physical activity, and the complete absence of drugs. The aim of the programme is to help the inmates regain their self confidence and self respect. Its success rate has been outstanding by world standards; from 1969 to the end of 1979 it was calculated to be 65 per cent. Success is defined as the satisfactory completion of a one-year drug-free period of super- vision after release, without a further conviction.
The Tai Lam Drug Addiction Treatment Centre, which has accommodation for 508, is used to house convicted people who have been remanded for a report regarding their suitability for sentence to a drug addiction treatment centre, as well as those sentenced to this form of treatment. The inmates, apart from being involved in a wide range of institutional-based activities, completed two major projects related to Vietnamese refugees and illegal immigrants from China during the year. These were the construction of 1,156 triple-tier bunks for Vietnamese refugees, and the clearance of 20 kilometres of under-