Record of the 23^rd APCCA

Conference Business

INTRODUCTION

APCCA meetings in recent years have been advised by an Advisory Committee which, as a matter of practice, has met on the afternoon prior to the commencement of the annual conference to consider matters of APCCA business.  Following the adoption of the APCCA Joint Declaration at the 22^nd APCCA meeting in Indonesia, the Advisory Committee was transformed into a more formally constituted Governing Board.  The Annual Conference remains the ultimate authority for governing the affairs of APCCA and the Governing Board acts essentially in an advisory capacity to the Conference.

The Governing Board met on Sunday 7 December to discuss a number of issues of significance to both the 23^rd Conference and to APCCA itself, and to consider possible recommendations to the Conference.

The meeting of the Governing Board was preceded by a meeting of the APCCA Finance Committee.

FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING: 7 DECEMBER 2003

See Appendix M.

MEETING OF THE GOVERNING BOARD: 7 DECEMBER 2003

Under the Joint Declaration, the Chair of the Governing Board is the Conference host. Mr Kelvin Pang, Commissioner of Hong Kong (China) CSD welcomed people to the meeting.  He then confirmed details of:

Ø          The current membership of the Governing Board [New South Wales (Australia); Canada; China; Hong Kong (China); Indonesia; Japan; Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka and Thailand].

Ø          APCCA membership as constituted by the 27 parties who have signed up to the Joint Declaration.  These are Australia (the jurisdictions of ACT, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria); Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Canada; China; Hong Kong (China); Fiji; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kiribati; Republic of Korea; Macao (China); Malaysia; Mongolia; New Zealand; Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Tonga; Thailand; Vietnam.

Discussion then moved to the following agenda items

1.         APCCA Secretariat Report

The Singapore delegation briefed the Board on the activities of the APCCA secretariat in the past 12 months, including the finalisation of the report of 22^nd APCCA, the production and distribution of newsletters, the collation of APCCA statistics and the maintenance of the APCCA website.  The Secretariat’s report is included as Appendix H to this Report.

The Governing Board resolved that the Secretariat report should be tabled to the Conference.

2.         22^nd APCCA Report

The Governing Board noted that there are a number of discrepancies between the report of 22^nd APCCA that is on the APCCA website and the printed version of the report that was distributed.  This is because, by oversight, and due to communication difficulties, a number of amendments to the draft report were not incorporated in the printed version.

The Governing Board resolved to recommend to the Conference that the website version of the 2002 report should be adopted as the official version of the 2002 Conference Report.

3.         Governing Board Elected Membership

Clause 14 of the Joint Declaration contains a set of detailed rules relating to membership of the Governing Board.  These include various categories of membership (the host and the last three hosts; four elected members; a rotating membership based on Conference attendance; and the secretariat hosts).

The Governing Board discussed the question of how the process of elections should be conducted and considered a proposal that had been developed by Hong Kong (China) for consideration.  However, it was agreed that the proposal should also be considered in a wider context where some jurisdictions might end up satisfying more than one category of membership. 

The Board therefore established an ad hoc committee to consider the issue and to report back to the Conference at its final business meeting.  The ad hoc committee comprised Singapore as Chair (as the next host), Canada, China, Hong Kong (China) and New Zealand. (Subsequent to the Governing Board meeting, the Australian Capital Territory also joined the ad hoc committee)

4.         Report on the Administration of the APCCA Fund

The Chair welcomed the fact that China, Mongolia and the Solomon Islands had made their first voluntary contributions during 2002-2003 and that voluntary contributions over that period were the highest ever.  He commented that the fund was in a healthy shape, with a surplus of US$54, 002.

The general rule is that the host and previous host will audit APCCA fund reports.  However, Kong Kong (China) is both host and fund administrator.  Therefore:

The Chair recommended, and the Board agreed, that the report should be audited by Indonesia and China and then presented to the Conference.

5.         Preparations for 24^th APCCA, Singapore

The Singapore delegation gave a brief presentation on preparations for the 2004 Conference.  The Conference will be held from 3^rd to 8^th October 2004.  The delegation also mentioned a number of possible changes that they are considering for the 2004 Conference to promote more discussion between participants.  They will be giving further consideration to the format over the next few months but have suggested that:

Ø          Delegations should, as far as possible, prepare their presentations on Agenda Item One in a powerpoint format according to a standard template.

Ø          The format for Agenda Items 2-4 may take a different format, perhaps involving smaller group discussions followed by discussion by the full Conference.

The Conference will also coincide with a major exhibition of IT – based security.

The Board noted the Singapore delegation’s report and the progress that has already been made towards the 2004 Conference.

6.         Review of the Appointment of the APCCA Secretariat

Hong Kong (China) and Singapore were appointed as co-hosts of the APCCA Secretariat at 21^st APCCA for a two year period.  Thus, it was time for the Governing Board to consider the appointment of the Conference Secretariat.   Hong Kong (China) and Singapore explained their roles and the Chair asked if any other jurisdictions were interested in taking over that responsibility but there were no offers. 

The Board resolved to recommend to the Conference that Singapore and Hong Kong (China) should continue to serve as co-hosts of the Conference Secretariat.

7.         Rapporteur Services

The Board discussed the current arrangements for Rapporteur services.  These basically involve payments from the APCCA fund to the Rapporteur of US$7,500 and to the Co-Rapporteur of US$2,500.  In addition, it has been the tradition for the hosts to pay for travel and accommodation costs.  However, governments in many jurisdictions have found it increasingly difficult to justify such payments under tight fiscal management rules. 

There was some discussion of whether the APCCA fund itself could provide such funding.  The fund clearly does not have the capacity to meet full travel and accommodation costs.  Dr Neil Morgan and Mrs Irene Morgan (Rapporteur and Co-Rapporteur for 2003) explained that they appreciated the dilemma and that they were open to discussion.  They suggested that there may be ways to reduce costs in some areas such as accommodation, provided that the Rapporteur / Co-Rapporteur are provided with adequate working facilities.

The Board resolved that the APCCA fund should be used to assist the Rapporteur and Co-Rapporteur’s travel arrangements to a maximum combined total of US$5,000 per annum.  This will involve the host preparing a budget proposal for the Finance Committee’s consideration.

8.         Appointment of Ad Hoc Agenda Committee

As at previous APCCA meetings, an ad hoc agenda committee was appointed to consider topics for the 2004 Conference.  The Committee members were China, Fiji, Hong Kong (China), Korea, New Zealand and Singapore.

9.         Speakers for Agenda Items 2-4

Speakers were selected for Agenda Items 2-4 (see the reports of those Items)

10.       Any Other Business

(a)        The Chair drew attention to the fact that this Conference was involving the services of the Centre for Criminology at Hong Kong University.  In particular, Professor Roger Hood (a Visiting Professor from Oxford University) would be assisting on Agenda Item Two and Dr Roderic Broadhurst would be assisting at one of the Workshops.

(b)       There was a brief discussion of the hosts for future conferences. Korea confirmed that it will host the 2005 Conference and New Zealand that it will host 2006.

FIRST CONFERENCE BUSINESS SESSION: 8 DECEMBER 2003

The first Conference business session consisted of the following items from the Governing Board meeting:

1.         APCCA Secretariat Report

Mr Chua Chin Kiat, head of the Singapore delegation, presented the report of the APCCA secretariat.  This report was accepted with acclamation by the Conference.

2.         APCCA Membership

The Chair, Mr Kelvin Pang, confirmed the current APCCA membership, as listed in the record of the Governing Board (above).

3.         Report of APCCA Fund Administrator

The Chair reported that the APCCA Fund Administrator’s report had been audited by China and Indonesia, as determined by the Governing Board; and had been confirmed as correct.  The report was then accepted by the Conference.

4.         Elected Membership of Governing Board

The Chair informed the Conference that the Governing Board had established a sub-committee to consider the process of election of Board members.

5.         Rapporteur Services

The Chair reported on the deliberations of the Governing Board with respect to the subsidy of rapporteur services for future conferences (see above).

SECOND CONFERENCE BUSINESS SESSION: 12 DECEMBER 2003

The second conference business session covered a number of matters that were outstanding from the Governing Board meeting and also a number of new items

1.         22^nd APCCA Report

The Chair advised the Conference of the discrepancies that had been identified between the printed and website versions of the 22^nd APCCA Report and of the Governing Board’s resolution that the website version should be adopted as the official version.

The Conference unanimously endorsed the Governing Board’s resolution.

2.         Ad Hoc Committee on Governing Board Elected Membership

Following the Governing Board meeting on 7 December, the ad hoc committee met on 10 December to discuss the process of elections to positions on the Governing Board.  Mr Chua Chin Kiat of Singapore provided the Conference with a comprehensive briefing on this matter and the membership for 2003/2004 was then finalised.

The Conference:

Ø         Unanimously endorsed the proposed election process (see Appendix N)   

Ø         Confirmed that the Governing Board membership for 2003/2004 is Singapore (Chair), Canada, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand and Thailand.

3.         APCCA Secretariat

The Conference thanked Singapore and Hong Kong (China) for their excellent work and resolved to endorse the Governing Board’s recommendations that

Ø         Singapore and Hong Kong (China) should continue to serve as co-hosts of the APCCA Secretariat.

Ø         Hong Kong (China) should continue to be the APCCA Fund Administrator

Mr Chua Chin Kiat of Singapore informed the Conference that, in order to enhance the quality and quantity of information that is on the APCCA website, the Secretariat would be uploading all country papers (unless countries expressed a written contrary desire); and would be seeking to include copies of the Prisons Acts and Regulations from all jurisdictions as a resource.  

The Conference endorsed these proposals

4.         Appointment of Rapporteur and Co-Rapporteur

The Conference unanimously endorsed the Governing Board’s recommendation that Dr Neil Morgan and Mrs Irene Morgan be appointed as Rapporteur and Co-Rapporteur for the Conference for a period of three years, on the financial arrangements recommended by the Board.

Since their appointments for the 2003 conference were an ad hoc arrangement arising from Professor Biles’ decision to stand aside.  Consequently,

It was further agreed that their appointments should commence from 2003/4 (i.e. covering the 2004, 2005 and 2006 conferences)

Brief resumes for Dr Neil Morgan and Mrs Irene Morgan were tabled to the Conference (See Appendix O).

5.         APCCA Membership

The Chair reported that Western Australia and South Australia had signed the APCCA Joint Declaration on 8 December, bringing APCCA membership up to 29 jurisdictions (See Appendix K).

6.         Agenda Items for 24^th APCCA

Dr Morgan reported that the ad hoc Agenda Committee (comprising China, Hong Kong (China), Fiji, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore) had met on 11 December 2003 and had discussed a range of possible topics for 24^th APCCA in Singapore.  He further explained that, at the Singapore conference, some of the agenda items would probably be discussed using a different format such as small discussion groups.  For this reason, five agenda items rather than four had been selected.

Dr Morgan further stated that he and Mrs Morgan had already started discussing the 2004 Conference arrangements with the Singapore delegation, and that further discussions would be held during 2004 to ensure that any new arrangements meet the evolving needs of the conference whilst also respecting its established traditions.

The conference topics are as follows:

Ø         Agenda Item 1: National Reports on Contemporary Issues (for which the Secretariat and the Rapporteurs will develop a template).

Ø         Agenda Item 2: The Roles of Community / Public Sector Agencies and Families in Successful Reintegration.

Ø         Agenda Item 3: Preventing and Containing Infectious Diseases

Ø         Agenda Item 4: Management of Public Expectations in the Treatment of Offenders

Ø         Agenda Item 5: Practices in Dealing with the Diverse Cultural and Spiritual Needs of Inmates

The specialist workshops will cover two or three of the following topics:

Ø         1:       Resolving Ethical Conflicts amongst Prison Officers

Ø         2:       Innovation Within Correctional Settings

Ø         3:       Communication and Public Relations: Ways to Gain the Support of Media, Politicians and the Public

7.         Future Hosts

Singapore, Korea and New Zealand are the confirmed hosts for 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively.

During the course of the Conference, Vietnam offered to host APCCA in 2007, the Philippines in 2008 and Western Australia in 2009.

The Conference thanked all these jurisdictions for their offers and for the level of continuity that is thereby assured for APCCA.

8.         Votes of Thanks

China, Fiji, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore formally thanked the Chair, the conference organisers and the Rapporteur/Co-Rapporteur.  There was a strong sense that this had been an extremely successful conference in terms of the programme organisation and the quality of presentations, debates and discussion. This had been enhanced by the visits to institutions, the splendid hospitality and the enjoyable social events.

9.         UNAFEI

At the conclusion of the formal conference business, Professor Shinkai of UNAFEI gave a presentation on the role and structure of UNAFEI and some background information on the programmes and seminars that it offers.  He then provided the conference with some valuable comparative statistics on the use of imprisonment around the world and stressed the importance that UAFEI places on the use of non-custodial sentences and standards in corrections.