43. The residents of this Home are given a primary school education and training in the domestic arts and are taught to lead orderly and useful lives. Sport and other forms of recreation are encouraged. The Home's maximum capacity is 56 and it was full on 31.1.55 but February, 1955 saw the beginning of site formation for the new home, which will be named Pelletier Hall after the founder of the Order and will accommodate 100 girls.
44. A total of 487 prostitutes referred by the Police were interviewed by the Moral Welfare Section and assistance was given to those who wished to change their way of life. A sub-committee on Moral Welfare, appointed by the Social Welfare Advisory Committee, started a study of the problem of prostitution in the Colony. There are no licensed houses in Hong Kong but, in common with other large seaports, the problem here is of considerable magnitude.
CHAPTER IX
SOCIAL WORK OF THE LAW-COURTS
45. Juvenile delinquency is not a major social problem in Hong Kong, and of a total of 23,376 offences committed during the year by juveniles who were brought before the two juvenile courts, over 90% were technical breaches of the law such as obstruction or illegal hawking. The Juvenile
Juvenile Offenders Ordinance, 1933, which set up juvenile courts, also introduced probation as a form of treatment for young offenders. The Probation Section of the Social Welfare Office comprises a Principal Probation Officer and 7 officers, 2 of whom were during the year seconded to voluntary organizations concerned in the treatment of juvenile delinquency. The work of proba- tionary supervision was carried out by 4 officers, each with a case-load of approximately 25. The number of unsatisfactory cases were remarkably few, many juveniles being referred to other welfare agencies for assistance, e.g. the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society and the Hong Kong Sea Training School.
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