ENG-1960 — Page 220

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SOCIAL WELFARE

the most common, to street gambling, narcotics offences, robbery and membership of an unlawful society. The Juvenile Courts also make supervision orders up to three years in 'care and protection' cases; while the Courts may call on probation officers to supervise selected adult cases during payment of fines and sometimes to conciliate in matrimonial disputes.

With the opening of two new Magistracies later in the year, the Probation Service now serves five Courts, including the New Territories' Courts at Ping Shan and Tai Po; and boys discharged on licence from Castle Peak Approved School under a new provi- sion of the law now come under the supervision of the probation staff during the rest of their sentence.

Over the past two years the number of persons placed on proba- tion has nearly doubled and it continues to increase. At the end of the year the total number on probation was 572 compared with 316 the year before. The District Courts made more use of probation and a number of children alleged to be beyond the control of their parents came under voluntary supervision. Ten officers, three of them women, shared this burden of cases.

There are two Probation Committees, consisting of all the Magistrates and three Justices of the Peace appointed by the Governor. Quarterly summaries of all cases under supervision are submitted to them and there are half-yearly meetings when selected cases are discussed; members also visit the probation offices to see individual case records.

The Juvenile Courts continued to use the Remand Home, which takes juveniles on arrest or remand and boys committed for resi- dential training up to a period of six months, almost to its full capacity of 54. There were 2,913 admissions, of whom 239 were girls. An increasing number of juveniles are now being remanded for at least a week so that probation officers may make inquiries.

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The Castle Peak Boys' Home, which is run as an Approved School and can accommodate about a hundred delinquent boys, was for the first time not quite full. This was largely the result of discharging a number of boys on licence who had been under training for about 2 years. Under the amended law a boy com- mitted there must stay for at least two years but he may be detained for a maximum of five years or until he reaches the