ENG-2007 — Page 382

326 Public Order

All inmates receive proper care. Their diet follows approved scales of nutritional values with regard to their health and religious requirements. All adult inmates, unless certified physically unfit, are required to work six days a week. They are assigned to different work posts according to their fitness and security ratings, personal background and balance of sentence. They receive payments for their work, which may be used for buying approved personal items. They can watch television and have access to newspapers and library books. They may send and receive letters, receive visits and participate in religious services.

Penal Institutions

CSD manages 12 prisons for adult males, consisting of three maximum, four medium and five minimum security institutions. Adult female prisoners are accommodated in four prisons. For young male offenders, the department operates one maximum security institution, two training centres and one detention centre. A training centre section is provided in Tai Tam Gap Correctional Institution, a multifunction institution for young females. Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre and its Annex accommodate male and female drug addicts respectively. Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre is a maximum security prison which houses separately male and female prisoners of all categories and detainees who require psychiatric observation, treatment or assessment. Five of the institutions cater for remanded males and females of different age groups. Facilities in a penal institution normally include dormitories, kitchens, dining rooms, laundries, workshops, exercising and recreational areas, library and a hospital.

CSD operates three halfway houses to help inmates released under supervision. to reintegrate into society. Group counselling sessions and other activities are organised and the residents can go out to work or attend school during the daytime.

Penal Population

The penal population was large in 2007. Overcrowding occurred mostly in prisons accommodating female adults. The average number of women in prison in 2007 was 2 196 and they occupied 109 per cent of total prison living space. Despite the overcrowding situation, the department continued to implement its correctional programmes effectively.

During the year, 16 044 adult offenders, comprising 10 783 men and 5 261 women, were sentenced to prison and 8 679 adults (6 649 men and 2 030 women) on remand were taken into custody. The number of young offenders sentenced to imprisonment totalled 707, comprising 332 males and 375 females, and 768 young people on remand (609 males and 159 females) were taken into custody. In addition, 751 young offenders (679 males and 72 females) were sentenced to detention in training centres, rehabilitation centres or the detention centre, and 1 372 offenders (1 130 males and 242 females) were placed in drug addiction treatment centres; while 3 919 offenders (3 373 males and 546 females) were remanded pending reports on their suitability for sentencing to one of these centres.