ENG-2004 — Page 435

Public Order | 373

Vocational Training

To help young offenders reintegrate smoothly into society as law-abiding citizens, the department provides vocational training programmes for inmates aged under 21 to enable them to learn job skills, obtain accreditation and develop work habits.

The CSD offers various training courses that match the inmates' learning ability and needs. All vocational training courses are designed to meet the demands of the business and industrial sectors in Hong Kong, so that inmates can have a better opportunity for employment upon discharge. Some courses help inmates to obtain qualifications of the City and Guilds of London Institute. Other training courses are provided to prepare inmates for trade tests or examinations conducted by the Vocational Training Council, the Construction Industry Training Authority and the Clothing Industry Training Authority.

Correctional Services Industries

The Correctional Services Industries (CSI) provide work to adult prisoners as required by law. Employment keeps all convicted inmates, except those who are physically unfit for work, purposefully and gainfully occupied. Through work, prisoners develop good working habits and a sense of responsibility, build up self- confidence and learn how to work as a team. This will also help them acquire the basic skills for different trades and improve their reintegration into the community after release.

In 2004, a daily average of about 6 745 prisoners were engaged in industrial work. Workshops in penal institutions provide a wide range of goods and services mainly for government departments and public organisations. Examples are government furniture, staff uniforms and leather accoutrement, hospital linen, litter containers and traffic signs. They also make pre-cast concrete products such as paving blocks, slabs and kerbs for highways and infrastructure projects. Prisoners provide laundry services for hospitals, clinics and ambulance depots. They also bind books for public libraries, undertake printing work and make file jackets and envelopes for some government departments. Production and services provided by the CSI amounted to the equivalent of $462 million in commercial value in 2004.

Prisoners' Welfare Services

Prisoners' Welfare Officers in the CSD look after the welfare of detainees and prisoners, and help them to deal with personal problems and difficulties arising from detention or imprisonment. Apart from conducting individual and group counselling sessions, Prisoners' Welfare Officers assist in the establishment and running of hobby groups. They also organise activities such as Pre-release Reintegration Orientation courses and meetings with family members of prisoners with the aim of helping inmates to reintegrate smoothly into society upon release and supplying them with information on community resources.

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374 Public Order