ENG-2008 — Page 399

Public Order | 327

and a vigorous routine. After release, detainees are placed under a one-year statutory supervision.

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.

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.

A Prisoners Education Trust Fund, set up with charitable donations in 1995, provides financial assistance to prisoners seeking an education.

Vocational Training

To help young offenders reintegrate smoothly into society as law-abiding citizens, the CSD provides half-day vocational training programmes for inmates. under 21 years of age to enable them to acquire job skills, obtain accreditation and develop work habits.

For local adult prisoners, the CSD provides pre-release vocational courses for those wishing to participate. These are full-time courses provided at the Lai Sun Correctional Institution Vocational Training Centre and the Lai Chi Kok Correctional Institution. There are also part-time courses held in other institutions.

Correctional Services Industries

The Correctional Services Industries (CSI) Section provides work for adult prisoners as required by law to keep them gainfully employed and to help them develop good working habits, sense of responsibility and self-confidence. Through the training received at work, prisoners can also cultivate employability skills to facilitate their reintegration into society.

In 2008, a daily average of about 5 256 prisoners were engaged in CSI providing government departments and subvented bodies with a wide range of goods and services. These include office furniture, uniforms, leather goods, hospital linen, protective filter masks, fiberglass litter containers, traffic signs, precast concrete products, laundry services for hospitals and clinics, book binding for public libraries, printing work, file jackets and envelopes. The market value of these goods. and services, together with other domestic work and services provided for CSD, was $441 million in 2008.

Welfare and Counselling Services

Programme Officers look after the welfare of detainees and prisoners, and help them deal with personal problems and difficulties arising from their detention or imprisonment. They conduct individual and group counselling sessions, and assist in running various rehabilitation programmes and services such as pre-release reintegration orientation courses, making arrangements for the prisoners to meet their family members and supplying them with information on community resources.