ENG-1988 — Page 295

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end of 1988, the success rates were 94.3 per cent for the detention centre, 66.2 per cent for male training centre inmates, 93.3 per cent for female training centre inmates, 86.9 per cent for young male prisoners and 87.9 per cent for young female prisoners.

Release Under Supervision

The Release Under Supervision Scheme and Pre-release Employment Scheme came into operation in July 1988. Prisoners who have served not less than half or 20 months (whichever period is the longer) of a sentence of three years, or more may apply for release under the supervision of the department's aftercare officers. Under the Pre-release Employ- ment Scheme, prisoners who are serving a sentence of two years or more and are within six months of completing their sentence may apply for release and then work and live in a designated hostel under the supervision of aftercare officers for the rest of their sentence. Prisoners serving life sentence are not eligible to apply. Prisoners who breach supervision condition are liable to be recalled to serve the remainder of the sentence. Up to the end of 1988, 141 applications for the Release Under Supervision Scheme and 247 for the Pre-release Employment Scheme were received. So far only four prisoners were released by the Governor under the Release Under Supervision Scheme and 14 under the Pre-release Employment Scheme upon the advice of the Release Under Supervision Board.

Correctional Services Industries

Correctional Services Industries aim to keep prisoners gainfully employed, thereby reducing the risk of unrest through boredom and lack of constructive activities. They also save government money by providing products and services to government departments and subvented organisations at reasonable prices.

Prisoners are paid for their work and earnings can be used to make purchases from the canteen. But more importantly, industrial production helps prisoners to acquire the habit of doing useful work.

There are 18 different trades including garment making and laundry services which employ the largest number of prisoners. Other major trades are: silk-screening, printing, envelope making, book-binding, shoe-making, fibreglass, metal work, leather work, precast concrete, and carpentry. The use of computers in Correctional Services Industries Head- quarters and in major production centres further improved production control, material management and management information systems. The total commercial value of goods and services provided for the year was estimated to be $178 million, an increase of 10.7 per cent over the previous year.

Closed Centres

The Correctional Services Department has been responsible for closed centres for Vietnamese refugees since their establishment in July 1982. With the new screening policy for Vietnamese boat people (those without refugee status) taking effect from June 16, Hei Ling Chau and Chi Ma Wan Closed Centres were turned into detention centres. The refugees from those centres were transferred to new closed centres at Sham Shui Po and Tuen Mun. Another new detention centre is being built at Whitehead, Sha Tin for the boat people.

Under the new policy, the Vietnamese boat people in detention centres are screened by immigration officers to determine their status. Those screened in to be refugees are to be transferred to closed centres, while those who are screened out will remain in the detention centres as illegal immigrants pending repatriation to Vietnam.