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The new Lai Chi Rehabilitation Centre (LCRC) for young male inmates begins operations today (May 25) at the site of the former Tai Tam Gap Correctional Institution (TGCI) on 110 Shek O Road, the Correctional Services Department (CSD) announced.
Under the CSD's institution regrouping project, the new LCRC, with a capacity of 160 penal places, receives young male offenders for phase I training in the rehabilitation centre programme.
Rehabilitation centres provide an additional sentencing option for the courts to deal with young offenders aged between 14 and under 21 who are in need of a short-term residential rehabilitation programme.
The former location of LCRC on Lantau Island will be used to accommodate training centre recallees to relieve the overcrowding in Cape Collinson Correctional Institution and Pik Uk Correctional Institution.
The department's Acting Senior Superintendent (Penal Administration), Mr Kan Chi-keung, said the new site of LCRC provided better facilities for inmates' rehabilitation. He said: "Not only have the conversion works of the former TGCI covered the upgrading of ageing facilities to meet the public's rising demand for modern penal facilities, but also included transforming workshops originally catering for female inmates to suit vocational training programmes of a male rehabilitation centre, such as hair-styling and building services.
"Conversion works also involved introduction of adventure based counselling facilities and extension of the pyschological treatment unit for enhancing rehabilitative services," Mr Kan said.
Mr Kan said that during implementation of the plan, the department carefully arranged and closely monitored the deployment of staff to ensure that there was adequate manpower for operational needs.
"Professional grade staff including clinical psychologists, masters and technical instructors have been re-shuffled across institutions to optimise the use of manpower," he added.
In view of the steady change of composition in the young offenders' penal population in the past 10 years, the CSD has been reorganising a number of young-offender institutions since early 2007 to optimise the use of penal facilities.
Ends/Monday, May 25, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:08
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