PUBLIC ORDER
298
Male Offenders
Prisoners are assigned to institutions according to their security rating, which takes into account, among other things, the risk they pose to the community and whether or not they are first offenders.
There are 12 prisons for adult male prisoners. The four prisons of maximum security are Stanley Prison, Shek Pik Prison, the Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre and Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre. There are four prisons of medium security, namely, Ma Po Ping Prison, Tung Tau Correctional Institution, Victoria Prison and Hei Ling Chau Correctional Institution. The remaining four prisons of minimum security are Tai Lam Correctional Institution, Pik Uk Prison, Tong Fuk Centre and Ma Hang Prison.
Stanley Prison and Shek Pik Prison house prisoners serving long sentences or life imprisonment. The Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre accommodates the criminally insane and those requiring psychiatric treatment. Adult males awaiting trial, or remanded in custody during court hearings, are detained at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre, which also has a separate section for male civil debtors. Victoria Prison houses illegal immigrants pending their repatriation to China, while a special section at Ma Hang Prison has been set aside for elderly prisoners. Adult prisoners released under the Pre-release Employment Scheme are provided with accommodation at Phoenix House, a halfway house for adult and young offenders.
Young Male Offenders
The department administers four correctional programmes for young male offenders under the Prisons, Training Centres, Drug Addiction Treatment Centres and Detention Centres Ordinances.
The maximum security Pik Uk Correctional Institution is run as a reception centre and training centre, as well as a prison, for young offenders under 25 years of age, including those who are remanded for pre-sentencing reports on their suitability for admission to the detention centre, training centre and drug addiction treatment centre programmes.
Cape Collinson Correctional Institution houses those between the ages of 14 and 17 years; and Lai King Training Centre, those between 18 and 20 years who have been sentenced to participate in the training centre programme.
The Lai Sun Correctional Institution on Hei Ling Chau accommodates young prisoners aged between 14 and 20 years. To cope with the increased penal population, part of the Sha Tsui Detention Centre has been set aside since April 1989 to hold young prisoners between 14 and 20 years of age.
An effective detention centre programme is carried out at the Sha Tsui Detention Centre. There are two sections, one for young offenders aged between 14 and 20 years, and the other for young adults aged between 21 and 24. The detention centre programme emphasises strict discipline, strenuous training, hard work and a vigorous routine.
Young offenders identified as having special needs on discharge from a training centre or detention centre are housed at Phoenix House for up to three months, before they are permitted to live at home or in other places while continuing to be under after- care supervision. Young male offenders released from prisons under the Pre-release Employment Scheme are also accommodated at Phoenix House. Residents of this halfway house must go out to work, or attend full-time school, during the day and return in the evening.