ENG-2003 — Page 415

PUBLIC ORDER

Under the Release Under Supervision and Pre-release Employment Schemes, successful applicants may be discharged directly from prison for after-care supervision or permitted to go out to work and live in a hostel with after-care services. Both schemes aim at enabling suitable, eligible and motivated prisoners to serve their sentences in an open environment with supervision.

The Post-release Supervision Scheme provides after-care supervision for certain categories of adult prisoners to facilitate their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Prisoners breaching the supervision conditions may be recalled to serve the balance of their unexpired supervision period. Prisoners with indeterminate sentences may, before the Long-term Prison Sentences Review Board makes recommendations as to whether their indeterminate sentences should be converted to determinate ones, be conditionally released under supervision for a specific period to test their determination and ability to lead a law-abiding life. Prisoners whose indeterminate sentences have been converted to determinate ones may also be ordered by the board to be placed under post-release supervision.

Success rates of the after-care programmes are measured by the percentage of supervisees completing supervision without reconviction and, as the case may be, remaining drug-free. In 2003, the success rates were 96 per cent for detention centre inmates; 69 per cent for male training centre inmates; 100 per cent for female training centre inmates; 92 per cent for young male prisoners; 86 per cent for young female prisoners; 64 per cent for male drug addiction treatment centre inmates; 77 per cent for female drug addiction treatment centre inmates; 100 per cent for the Release Under Supervision Scheme; 100 per cent for the Pre-release Employment Scheme; 91 per cent for the Post-release Supervision Scheme and 100 per cent for those prisoners discharged under a conditional release order or supervision after release order. There were no supervisees who completed their supervision period under the Rehabilitation Centres Ordinance in 2003. Altogether, there were 2 601 males and 306 females under after-care supervision at year-end.

Services Provided by Non-governmental Organisations

Non-governmental organisations such as the Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention, Hong Kong, Buddhas' Light International Association of Hong Kong, Caritas Lok Heep Club, Hong Kong Christian Kun Sun Association, Christian Prison Pastoral Fellowship, Save the Children Hong Kong and Wu Oi Christian Centre. provide services to help offenders and discharged inmates reintegrate into the community. They provide services such as case work, counselling, hostel accommodation, employment assistance, recreational activities and looking after children whose parents are in custody.

Community Support

Community acceptance and support is of paramount importance to the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into society. Comprising representatives of non- governmental organisations, government departments and professionals from various sector of society, the Committee on Community Support for Rehabilitated Offenders advises the Commissioner of Correctional Services on rehabilitation programmes and publicity strategies.

A series of publicity activities has been launched since 1999 to appeal for public support for rehabilitated offenders. The major activities in 2003 included joint community activities organised with the 18 District Fight Crime Committees, an

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