ENG-1952 — Page 167

JUSTICE, RECORDS, POLICE AND PRISONS

Inside the prison a further step has been taken with the segregation, for the first time, of young recidivists in a separate hall containing 72 cells. Both groups of young prisoners receive educational and trade training. The recidivists or "ordinary" group is under prison discipline, but the first offender or "star" group. has been placed for an experimental period under two Chinese schoolmasters, the senior of whom returned during the year from a Colonial Development and Welfare course in England.

Prison industries for long-term prisoners are still expanding, and are being modernized with machinery ordered from home. Workshop space is fully utilized, and further expansion is limited.

Victoria Prison

The old Victoria Prison continues to cater for a medley of groups, including debtors, deportees, desti- tutes and prisoners sentenced to very short terms. Remand cases are housed in a separate wing. The buildings are antiquated and unsuitable, but the site is a valuable one and its proximity to the Central Magistracy and Central Police Station is convenient. Next door to the Remand Prison is a block of offices which have been completely modernized to form the Headquarters of the Department. These Headquarters were formerly located in one of the residential flats at Stanley.

Lai Chi Kok Prison

At Lai Chi Kok, on the mainland, is the Female Prison. This is located in an area which is rapidly becoming industrialized. The prison is a small self- contained institution which is run on modern lines by an entirely local staff.

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