ENG-2004 — Page 437

Public Order | 375

of the supervision conditions may result in the supervisee being recalled for a further period of training, treatment or imprisonment.

Through 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.

In 2004, 2 692 offenders were discharged under supervision. Together with those who were discharged in previous years but had yet to complete their supervision period, a total of 2 866 persons (2 579 males and 287 females) were under the CSD's supervision at the end of 2004. During the year, 686 persons (602 males and 84 females) were recalled for breach of supervision conditions.

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 2004, the success rates were 96 per cent for male rehabilitation centre inmates; 98 per cent for female rehabilitation centre inmates; 96 per cent for detention centre inmates; 67 per cent for male training centre inmates; 83 per cent for female training centre inmates; 84 per cent for young male prisoners; 100 per cent for young female prisoners; 62 per cent for male drug addiction treatment centre inmates; 73 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; 89 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.

CSD collaborates with the Methodist Centre to implement a scheme under which the department refers supervisees of Sha Tsui Detention Centre to the Methodist Centre for follow-up if they, after completing the one-year statutory supervision, are still found to be in need of and are willing to receive counselling services. The outcome of the scheme is encouraging, as the recidivism rate of the participants is one third below that of their counterparts. The department has therefore extended its scope to cover supervisees of all supervision schemes and named it the 'Continuing Care Project'. With the support of seven non-governmental