ENG-2006 — Page 403

Public Order | 335

to six months and three to 12 months respectively. After release, detainees are subject to a statutory supervision period of one year.

In operation since July 2002, the rehabilitation centres provide an additional sentencing option for the courts to deal with young offenders aged between 14 and 20 who are in need of a short-term residential rehabilitation programme. The programme is carried out in two phases with a detention period spanning three to nine months. The first phase of the programme provides two to five months' training in a correctional institution. The young offenders spend the second phase in an institution with a halfway house setting for a period of one to four months. They may go out for work, attend vocational training and educational courses, and participate in community service programmes. Discharged young offenders are subject to a statutory period of supervision of one year.

Education

Inmates under 21 are required to attend educational classes conducted by qualified teachers. They are encouraged to take part in both local and overseas public examinations organised by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority and other local and overseas authorities. Young inmates may attend formal classes up to certificate level and sit for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination as school candidates. Adult inmates may sit for the examination as private candidates. Inmates may obtain accreditation through public examinations held by the City and Guilds or the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

A Prisoners' Education Trust Fund, set up with charitable donations in 1995, provides financial assistance to prisoners seeking an education, in the form of grants to cover course or examination fees and cost of reference materials.

Vocational Training

To help young offenders reintegrate smoothly into society as law-abiding citizens, the department provides vocational training programmes for inmates under 21 years of age to enable them to acquire job skills, obtain accreditation and develop work habits. The CSD offers various training courses that fit the inmates' learning ability and needs. The vocational training courses are market-orientated to give the inmates a better opportunity to find employment after they are discharged. There are also courses to help inmates obtain the City and Guilds vocational qualifications, and to prepare them for trade tests or examinations conducted by training authorities, such as the Vocational Training Council, the Construction Industry Training Authority and the Clothing Industry Training Authority.

For adult prisoners, the CSD also provides vocational courses to help them obtain accredited skills by enrolling them in tests conducted by vocational training organisations. In July 2006, a pre-release vocational training centre was set up to enable male adult prisoners who will be discharged in 24 months to participate in full-time vocational training on a voluntary basis. The centre is situated at Lai Sun Correctional Institution and offers six months of comprehensive and in-depth vocational training in a wide range of trades, such as mechanical craft, catering, printing and desktop publishing.