PUBLIC ORDER
Visiting Justices
Justices of the Peace visit penal institutions and VM centres fortnightly or monthly, depending on the type of institution. They investigate complaints, inspect diets and report on living and working conditions. They may also advise the Commissioner of Correctional Services on employment opportunities for released prisoners.
Inspectorate and Management Services
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The Inspectorate and Management Services Division monitors the efficacy and efficiency of departmental policies and the management of prison establishments through its three sub-units, namely, the Inspectorate Unit which carries out inspections and evaluation of service; the Complaints Investigation Unit which handles both internal and external complaints; and the Management Services Unit which studies and updates departmental practices to bring them into line with the prevailing policy and changing needs of the community.
After-care Services
After-care supervision is provided to persons discharged from training, detention and drug addiction treatment centres; young prisoners and those discharged under the 'Post-release Supervision of Prisoners', 'Release Under Supervision' and 'Pre-release Employment' Schemes. After-care services aim at facilitating the ex-offenders' rehabilitation and reintegration into the society. A sound rapport among the supervisees, their families and the after-care staff is cultivated to help the supervisees tackle the obstacles on their pathway of rehabilitation. Throughout the statutory supervision period, regular contacts are maintained between the aftercare staff and their respective supervisees to ensure that the supervisees settle well into the community and comply with the conditions of the supervision orders. Any breach of the supervision conditions may result in the supervisee's being recalled for further period of training, treatment or imprisonment.
Under the 'Release Under Supervision' and 'Pre-release Employment' Schemes, and subject to the approval of the Release Under Supervision Board, successful applicants may be discharged directly from prison for after-care supervision or permitted to go out to work and live in a designated hostel with after-care services. Both schemes aim at enabling suitable, eligible and motivated prisoners to serve their sentences in an open environment with supervision.
The Post-release Supervision of Prisoners Scheme, which came into operation in late 1996, provides after-care supervision for certain categories of adult prisoners to facilitate their rehabilitation and reintegration into the society. Prisoners breaching the supervision conditions may be recalled to serve the balance of their unexpired supervision period. Under the 'Conditional Release Scheme', prisoners with indeterminate sentences may, before the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board makes recommendations as to whether their indeterminate sentences should be converted to a determinate ones, be conditionally released under supervision for a specific period to test their determination and ability to lead a law-abiding life.
Success rates of the after-care programmes are measured by the percentage of supervisees completing supervision without re-conviction and, where applicable, remaining drug-free. In 1997, the success rates were: 96 per cent for detention centre
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