ENG-1996 — Page 387

PUBLIC ORDER

will then be forwarded to the courts concerned. In 1996, 2002 offenders were remanded for suitability reports and the Selection Board deemed 1 529 — 1 404 male and 125 female suitable for admission to training or detention centres.

Training centres provide correctional training for young offenders for periods. ranging from a minimum of six months to a maximum of three years. Inmates must have suitable employment or a place in school, and will be subject to a statutory period of supervision of three years upon release. They attend half-day educational classes and receive half-day vocational training. Recreational and physical activities are held in the evenings and on Sundays and public holidays. Visits to youth centres, factories, sports centres and country parks are arranged for advanced grade inmates on Sundays and public holidays to provide additional educational and training opportunities and to prepare them for reintegration into society.

In 1996, 297 young males and 24 young females were sentenced to detention in a training centre, while 116 young male offenders and six young female offenders were recalled for breach of supervision conditions for further training. After being discharged from training centres, 65.3 per cent of the male offenders and 90.3 per cent of the female offenders completed the three-year supervision without reconviction. An effective detention centre programme is carried out at Sha Tsui Detention Centre for young offenders aged between 14 and 20 years, and young adults aged between 21 and 24. It emphasises strict discipline, strenuous training, hard work and a vigorous routine. After release, detainees are subject to a statutory period of supervision for one year. During 1996, 283 young offenders completed the supervision and 263 were not reconvicted during the period a success rate of 92.9

per cent.

Young male offenders identified as having special needs are, on discharge from a training centre or detention centre, housed at Phoenix House for up to three months before they are permitted to live at home or in other places while they continue to receive after-care supervision.

Female Offenders

Adult females serve their sentences at Tai Lam Centre for Women, which also caters for remand prisoners and prisoners undergoing drug addiction treatment. Most of these inmates are employed in an industrial laundry, which provides services to government departments and public hospitals.

Young females serve their sentences at Tai Tam Gap Correctional Institution, which accommodates remand prisoners, training centre inmates and prisoners undergoing drug addiction treatment. Since 1994, the medium security Chi Ma Wan Correctional Institution has held adult and young female prisoners to cope with an increasing population of female offenders.

A halfway house is provided for adult and young female prisoners released under supervision from the training centre or under the Pre-release Employment Scheme. The residents there go to work or attend full-time school during the day, and return in the evening.

Drug Addiction Treatment

Drug addicts found guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment may be sentenced to a drug addiction treatment centre. They can be detained for two to 12

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