ENG-1980 — Page 190

PUBLIC ORDER

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Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre (accommodation 120) is a maximum security prison providing advanced psychiatric treatment for the criminally insane and convicted prisoners of a dangerous or violent nature. Inmates of other institutions requiring psychiatric treatment, or those for whom the courts require assessment, are also sent there but are detained separately. The centre continues to be overcrowded, having an average muster of 143, and work is proceeding on a planned extension.

Young Male Offenders

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Three correctional programmes - training centre, detention centre and prison operate for young offenders. There are five main centres which have a total certified accommodation of 1,119 for young inmates; during 1980, the average daily population was 929. In addition, drug addiction treatment is provided for young offenders at Tai Lam Drug Addiction Treatment Centre.

Lai King Training Centre (accommodation 260) houses-young convicts remanded for reports on their suitability for sentence to a training centre; young people remanded from the courts for trial on minor offences; and training centre inmates aged 14 to 17 years.

Cape Collinson Training Centre, which was converted to a refugee camp during 1979, reverted during the year to being a centre for young offenders and was renamed Cape Collinson Correctional Institution. With accommodation for 142, it houses training centre inmates aged 18 to 21 years and prisoners under 21 years of age who have been sentenced to less than three years.

The Pik Uk Correctional Institution (accommodation 385) is a maximum security in- stitution with separate facilities for a training centre and a prison. Also accommodated are young people, including adults under 25 years, convicted by the courts but remanded for reports on their suitability for sentence to a detention centre.

The Sha Tsui Detention Centre (accommodation 220) is a medium security centre with two sections - one for 17 to 20 year-olds and the other for those aged 21 to 24. Nei Kwu Chau Detention Centre (accommodation 112) on the island of Hei Ling Chau, caters for the 14 to 16 year-olds. In both centres inmates undergo a programme which has been styled as 'short sharp shock' treatment for first offenders or those with a short criminal history. The emphasis is on strict discipline, hard physical effort and few privileges. Deten- tion ranges from one month to six months for those under 21 years, and three months to 12 months for those 21 to 24 - followed by 12 months' compulsory after-care in each case. Discharge within these limits is at the discretion of the Commissioner of Prisons and occurs when it is considered that the inmate has achieved the maximum benefit.

After-care supervision is a vital aspect of both the training and detention centre pro- grammes. The officer on after-care duties builds up a working relationship with an inmate and his family during the inmate's time in the centre, and then visits him regularly after release. On these visits, the officer acts as a guide and counsellor, while checking that his charge is complying with the conditions of his supervision order.

The success rate for offenders under 21 defined as the percentage who have completed the supervision period, which is three years for a training centre and 12 months for a deten- tion centre, without subsequent reconviction is 53.93 per cent for the training centres and 94.97 per cent for the detention centres.

Since the inception of the detention centre programme for young adults in 1977, 237 detainees have been admitted for corrective training. Of these, 155 have completed their training and been released under supervision and 83 have successfully completed their period of supervision.