Appendix C
Discussion Guide

This Discussion Guide has been prepared in order to assist the preparation of background papers for the 20th Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators which is scheduled to be held in Sydney, Australia, 5-10 November 2000. (The abbreviated title of the conference is: 20th APCCA, Sydney.)

The APCCA held its first meeting in 1980 and its most recent meeting was in October 1999 in Shanghai, China. Most meetings of APCCA are attended by senior correctional officials and observers from 20 or more nations in the region. They represent nearly one half of the total population of the world.

Between 1980 and 1999 the APCCA has developed a number of traditions, one of which is that conference delegates prepare papers on each of the substantive agenda items selected for discussion. The papers are generally used as a basis for the presentations to the conference (even though it is not customary for them to be read in full), and they have also been used to assist with the training of senior correctional staff in some nations in the region. Some of the national discussion papers are also published on the APCCA Internet web site when specific approval has been given.

At the 16th APCCA in New Zealand in 1996 it was agreed that there would be a slight change in the format of the conference in the following year in order to provide more time for discussion and the exchange of views. Specifically, it was agreed that the first agenda item should be a national report from each delegation covering any matters of current interest in each nation or territory. All delegations would be expected to produce a written report and also to address the conference for up to 10 minutes on their reports.

Three other conference agenda items would also be specified and, while all delegations would be asked (if appropriate) to prepare papers on each of these items, they would be asked to formally address the conference on only one of these three items. Thus all delegations will be given two opportunities to make formal presentations to the conference, and all will have adequate time to ask questions and enter into discussions. This format was followed at the 17th APCCA in Malaysia, the 18th APCCA in Canada and the 19th APCCA in China and met with the general approval of the delegates.

It is therefore requested that for agenda items 2, 3 and 4, the national discussion papers clearly indicate if these items are regarded as high, medium or low priority.

At all recent conferences the national discussion papers have been copied by the conference hosts and circulated to all delegates in attendance. It has been observed by many delegates that the collection of national papers is so informative and factual that it constitutes an invaluable reference for penal policy in the Asia and Pacific region.

As indicated in previous Discussion Guides, the papers themselves need not be very long, the actual length being entirely a matter for individual delegates to decide, but it is common for papers from each nation to include an introductory statement which presents the basic facts about the relevant correctional system. This might include information on the numbers of prisoners, prisons and staff, and also describe any recent changes in general policy or practice.

(In order to facilitate the copying of papers for distribution it is suggested that if possible they be prepared on plain paper approximately the same size as this Discussion Guide and are received by the host on the specified date before the conference opens.)

At the 19th APCCA in Shanghai, China, the delegates proposed a large number of possible agenda items for the next conference in Sydney, Australia. The list of suggested items was initially considered by the APCCA Advisory Committee and later considered by the full assembly of conference delegates. The full conference finally approved the four agenda items which are outlined in the following pages.

It was also decided at the 19th APCCA that the Sydney conference would include an additional subject, the Classification of Prisons and Prisons. This was requested by China and will take the form of a workshop to be held on the afternoon of Thursday 9 November. Participation in this workshop will be optional and national papers are not expected for this topic.

This document is no more than a guide to some of the issues that may be discussed in relation to each of the four agenda items. Delegates should feel free to put their own interpretations on the items. Also, it is recognised that not all of the issues will be equally relevant to all of the nations participating in the conference.

1. National Report on Contemporary Issues in Corrections

As indicated above, this agenda item was selected in order to provide an opportunity for conference delegates to report on and discuss any matters of current interest in correctional policy and practice in their own nations or territories. Therefore, the contents of reports are entirely at the discretion of each delegation. However, it may be useful if reports included an outline of trends in crime and in prison populations, and (if relevant) trends in community-based correctional populations.

In providing these basic facts it may be helpful if explanations are given of the correctional statistics which are supplied separately. For example, the reports could indicate if offenders held in provincial or local jails, including police facilities, are counted in the total numbers of prisoners that are reported for each nation. (It is specifically requested that in federated nations an effort be made to provide a general national picture of the use of custody or detention so that valid comparisons can be made with mono-jurisdictional nations.) Similarly, it would be of interest to know if persons accused of committing offences and who are held in custody (perhaps known as remandees, detainees or on-trials) are counted as prisoners. The same question arises in relation to persons serving periodic or weekend detention orders.

Furthermore, relevant details of the structure or composition of prison populations would be of interest, particularly if any changes or trends have been noticed. For example, are there any changes in the proportions of the total prison populations who are identified as female, indigenous, foreigners, etc? Is the average age of prisoners increasing? Are there more prisoners serving sentences for particular types of crimes, such as drug offences? And, are there proportionately more or fewer prisoners who have special needs, such as the need for medical isolation because of infectious disease, or need to be protected from other prisoners?

It would also be appropriate if national reports prepared for this agenda item referred to any new or proposed legislation which has had, or may have in the future, an impact on the size of prison populations. Legislation abolishing the granting of remissions to prisoners for good conduct and industry, for example, has in some jurisdictions had a major impact on the total number of prisoners, but this has not always been the case. It would be of interest to know if legislation of this type was seen as reflecting the attitudes of the general public who may be demanding that offenders must be seen to be severely punished. Any other legislative changes or proposals, such as proposals for treaties facilitating the international transfer of prisoners, whether or not they are likely to have a significant impact on the the total number of prisoners, might also be outlined in the national reports.

National reports may also provide details of any new treatment or training programs that have recently been introduced or are being planned. Of particular interest here would be programs which aim to correct specific types of offending behaviour, such as drug and alcohol treatment programs, sex offender programs, anger management counselling, and new approaches to dealing with intoxicated and other irresponsible driving of motor vehicles. If any programs of this type have been evaluated, either internally or by external consultants, the results of such evaluations would be of considerable interest.

It is suggested that national reports should make reference to current problems and challenges, as well as to positive or successful initiatives, and therefore it would be appropriate for reports to mention matters which are causing concern, such as overcrowding, escapes, deaths in custody, etc.. For each of the problem areas it may also be possible for information to be provided on approaches or initiatives that have been, or will be, introduced to resolve these problems, in either the short or long term.

Finally, while it is suggested that national reports should primarily focus on the general picture of correctional administration in each nation or territory, reference may also be made to some of the specific issues which are scheduled for consideration under later agenda items. In other words, a subject need not be excluded from the national report simply because it is discussed in more detail under a separate agenda item.

2. Women Prisoners

Issues associated with the management of women prisoners have been discussed at two earlier conferences in the series. In 1985 in Fiji the subject 'Facilities and Programs for Female Offenders, including those Inmates with Children' was discussed, and in 1996 in New Zealand one of the agenda items was 'Special Issues Relating to the Management of Female Offenders'. The fact that the majority of delegates to the 19th APCCA in Shanghai in 1999 wanted further consideration of this topic suggests that there is still some concern in at least some nations about the policy and practice relating to women prisoners and their treatment.

(It is relevant to note that the conference program will include a visit to a minimum security women's prison farm, Emu Plains, on Thursday 9 November.)

In every nation in Asia and the Pacific, and also in the rest of the world, the proportion of all prisoners who are female is very small, even though that proportion varies considerably between nations. In Asia and the Pacific the proportion varies between about 12 per cent in Hong Kong, China, and less than one per cent in some of the small Pacific island nations. In Australia the proportion of prisoners who are female has increased over the past 20 years from approximately 2.5 per cent to approximately 6 per cent, while for the Asia and Pacific region as a whole that proportion has remained relatively constant at around 4.5 per cent.

The very fact that women prisoners always constitute a small minority of the total may result in them being perceived, or perceiving themselves, as having a lower priority in the provision of services and programs than their male counterparts. This perception may be exacerbated by the fact the a smaller range of vocational and recreational activities are generally available to women prisoners than men prisoners. Furthermore, in some jurisdictions, the activities provided for them are of a traditional nature and focus almost entirely on house-keeping duties, with perhaps some basic training in secretarial work.

In some very small prison systems, the one or two women prisoners in the system may be held in virtual solitary confinement even though they have not committed disciplinary offences which would justify such secondary punishment. Similarly, where the numbers are small no attempt is made to classify women prisoners as requiring maximum, medium or minimum security, and it is often the case that there is no segregation of sentenced women prisoners and unconvicted women prisoners remanded in custody while awaiting trial or sentence. Even in relatively large prison systems, the smaller number of women prisoners can have the effect of restricting the choice of institutions for them with the result that they are less likely than men prisoners to be placed in prisons close to their homes.

In addition to the problems caused for women prisoners by their small numbers, it is increasingly being recognised that many of them have special problems and needs in relation to health. For example, issues related to pregnancy, childbirth, contraception, menstruation, lesbian relationships, and hormone replacement therapy are rarely discussed at meetings of prison administrators and may therefore be neglected. A high proportion of women prisoners are incarcerated for offences relating to illegal drugs, and many of these have addiction problems which need treatment. It is also now being recognised that many women prisoners have themselves been the victims of physical or sexual abuse in their early lives and may therefore be in particular need of expert counselling and support.

The situation of women prisoners who are pregnant at the time of their admission to prison, or who have very young babies at that time, may pose particular problems for correctional administrators. Pregnant women may have special dietary needs, as well as a need to practise antenatal exercises. They may also need counselling and emotional support to help them cope with the unusual situation of being in prison and expecting a baby without the normal support of a partner and other family members. It is common practice for the delivery of babies to women prisoners to take place in normal public hospitals in order to avoid the possible stigma of having a prison named as the place of birth on the birth certificate, and also to ensure that adequate obstetric services are available.

Once a baby is born to a prisoner mother, it is common in most nations for the mother to be allowed to care for the baby in prison. There is no agreement, however, on the question of how long the baby may be allowed to stay. In some jurisdictions babies may stay with their mothers in prison only until they are twelve months old, at which time they must be removed to a foster home or to another family member in the community. In other jurisdictions babies are allowed to stay until they are three years old, or perhaps even longer, but this is seen by some child-rearing experts as not in the best interests of the child as he or she at that age would be fully aware of the abnormal nature of the situation. Also, little children in prison environments run the risk of learning unacceptable language and habits from both the prisoners and the prison officers. It can be seen that it is not easy to establish a policy on this subject which is in the best interests of all of the parties.

Other aspects of this subject that may be discussed at the conference include the desirability or otherwise of women's prisons having some male as well as female prison officers in order to provide role models and also to create some degree of normalcy in an otherwise all-female environment. At an even more radical level, consideration may also be given to the desirability of allowing female and male prisoners to have some social contact under supervision, perhaps at meal times or in recreational periods. In this regard, it is noted that there are some 'co-ed' prisons in Australia in which some degree of contact between male and female prisoners is encouraged. Finally, the basic challenge on this topic for prison administrators is to turn the relatively small numbers of women prisoners into an advantage rather than a disadvantage as far as their treatment is concerned.

3. Community Involvement in Corrections

The general topic of community involvement in corrections has been discussed at at least four of the previous conferences, the most recent being in New Zealand in 1996, even though the precise words used to define the agenda items have been slightly different on each occasion. It has been suggested that on this occasion the discussion should include a consideration of the public education role of prison administrators and the broader issue of media support for correctional work. Furthermore, it has also been suggested that the issue of communication and coordination between agencies, that was discussed briefly at the 19th APCCA in Shanghai, could be considered in greater detail at this conference.

There are many different ways in which members of the general community can be encouraged to become involved in the positive aspects of correctional work. Suitably mature adults in some countries can become volunteer probation officers, as is the case in Japan. In many other nations volunteers work in the prisons assisting with education, recreation and sporting programs. Official prison visitors have been appointed in a number of jurisdictions with the authority to inspect facilities and also to hear prisoners' complaints and grievances. In all of these areas, the work of unpaid members of the community is used to supplement the work of professional staff, but a challenge for correctional administrators is to ensure that the volunteers feel that their work is appreciated while conforming with the rules and regulations that apply to all correctional work. The formation of associations, or clubs, of volunteers which conduct social and training functions, seems to be a useful mechanism for ensuring this result.

A significant problem in this area is the fact that in many nations newspapers, radio and television interest in correctional work seems to be almost exclusively focussed on negative stories. Thus, the public is much more likely to learn about prison escapes, riots and fires than they are about the positive work involved with treatment, training or rehabilitation. Consideration is needed of the mechanisms or approaches that may be explored by correctional administrators in order to encourage the media to present a more balanced picture of the reality of correctional work. These mechanisms might include inviting journalists and other media representatives on conducted tours of prisons, as well as the periodical issue of newsletters and press releases when incidents of public interest occur.

In addition, all correctional administrators, including senior staff working in institutions, can as a matter of policy be encouraged accept all invitations to give talks and lectures about their work to schools, universities, and any interested community groups. Open days, in which invited guests visit prisons for social or sporting gatherings, can also be arranged occasionally. In some situations it has been possible for groups of prisoners to work under supervision in the community creating and maintaining civic amenities, such as municipal parks and gardens. These approaches are generally greatly appreciated by the public and should also have the desirable effect of making prisons seem less secretive and mysterious to the general public. Some of these activities may also be the starting point for encouraging volunteer assistance.

The issue of communication and coordination between agencies involved with various aspects of correctional work, is one to be addressed by professionals rather than volunteers, even though it may be the case that some of the agencies may make wide use of volunteers. The central problem here is one of relatively recent origin as it is only in the past one or two decades that specialised agencies dealing with drug addiction, alcoholism, mental health problems, post release employment, family counselling, and numerous other areas of concern, have become actively involved with both custodial and non-custodial correctional work.

In some nations, the specialised agencies are commercial organisations and do their work on a fee-for-service basis, but even if they are government agencies they are likely to have priorities and styles of working which are not identical to those of the central corrections department. If effective communication and coordination between these agencies and the corrections administration is to be achieved it would seem to be essential for a significant level of mutual respect and trust to be established and maintained. Carefully negotiated arrangements for working together and frequent meetings to resolve differences would appear to be the basic ingredients needed for success. Delegates to the conference would no doubt be interested to hear specific details of these types of arrangements.

4. Health Issues In Corrections

This subject has been on the agenda of several previous conferences, the most recent being in Japan in 1995, but is clearly of continuing interest. Some of the issues to be discussed are: whether prison health services should be at the same level as are available in the community; who should provide those services; what infectious diseases are prevalent in prisons and what can be done to keep them to a minimum; how are drug offenders treated in prisons; and, why are there apparent differences in the incidence of suicides in different prison systems? Many other issues could be added to this list, including those relating to women prisoners discussed earlier.

The provision of health or medical services to prisoners is of great importance to the management of prisons as unsatisfactory service in this area can be a cause of unrest leading to riots or other consequences such as suicides and deaths from other causes. A central question to be considered is whether prisoners should receive medical services and treatment equivalent or less than those available to citizens in the outside community. In other words, should the 'principle of less eligibility', apply to prison medical services? The general consensus at previous APCCA meetings was that the principle should not apply and that prisoners should receive medical care which is at least equivalent to that available to members of the community. For some nations, however, this is an objective rather than an achievement as they do not have sufficient resources to reach that goal.

While the majority of correctional administrators would accept the goal of providing medical treatment equivalent to that available in the community, the movement towards tightening government expenditure in recent years has led to reduced prisons budgets and the need to trim all correctional services. One consequence of this has led some nations, such as Canada, to introduce an approach to prison medical care which requires prisoners to take a more responsible and constructive role in maintaining their own health. This means that instead of supplying all medical services on demand, prisoners with minor ailments would be required to purchase non-prescription medication, such as aspirin, from the prison canteen using their own resources.

A possible model for the delivery of medical services is for these services to to be provided under contract by private companies. This model is being used in some Australian jurisdictions, but it is not common in other Asia and Pacific nations. A wider debate is on the question of whether medical staff should be employed by the corrections agencies or whether they should be 'seconded', or temporarily transferred, from the government general health services or public hospitals. Examples of both approaches can be found in the region. There has also been discussion about the extent to which it is efficient and safe for prison health services to be integrated with community health services.

In the People's Republic of China, for example, the Prison Law stipulates that prisoners 'medical and health [services] shall be placed in the local medical and epidemic prevention programs where the prisons are located'. In some other systems, prison health services are a part of the corrections system itself rather than the general health system. Japan would be placed in the latter category as it has special medical prisons for dealing with prisoners with special needs in relation to mental health. A compromise between these two approaches can be found in some nations where medical staff are employed by the corrections departments and they run clinics, and even small hospitals, within the prisons, but serious cases are taken to 'prison wards', or separate secure sections, of general public hospitals.

The incidence of HIV/AIDS has been a matter of particular concern to correctional administrators as fears have been expressed that prisons could become significant locations for the transmission of the disease. These fears are based on the fact that the major causes of HIV/AIDS infection are unprotected anal intercourse and the injection of drugs with unsterilised syringes, and these two practices are believed to be more common in prisons than elsewhere. Also, amateur tattooing with pins or needles is fairly frequently practised in some prisons, and this practice may also lead to infection. When the existence of the disease was first made public these fears were very high and most correctional administrators authorised extensive education programs for both staff and prisoners in order to ensure that the dangers of infection were known and understood.

In the event, the incidence of HIV/AIDS in prisons has been found to be much lower than was expected, but it is very difficult, if not impossible, to establish the real incidence for a variety of reasons. The presence of the infection can only be established by the testing of blood samples, and this is a fairly costly process which cannot be widely used in many of the less affluent nations of the region. When this subject was last discussed, APCCA delegates expressed a wide range of views about the desirability, feasibility, and even the legality of testing for this infection in prisons.

Even though HIV/AIDS in prisons has been the subject of wide debate, many correctional administrators claim that other infectious diseases are much more common, and therefore of greater concern in prison management. The various strains of hepatitis are to be found in many prisons in the Asia and Pacific region, and in recent years the prisons in Cambodia and Vietnam have reported many cases of malaria. Cases of tuberculosis have also been reported in the prisons in several nations, including Canada, Mongolia and Cambodia. Epidemics of influenza are also experienced from time to time in all prison systems in the region. Details of steps taken to reduce the incidence of these infectious diseases and to treat those infected would be of interest.

It is generally accepted that between 40 and 70 per cent of all prisoners in the majority of nations in the region are in prison as a result of offences relating to drugs. This estimate includes offences which were motivated to obtain money to purchase drugs, offences committed while under the influence of drugs, as well as the specific offences of possession, use, manufacture, cultivation or trafficking of illicit drugs. While cannabis is illegal in all nations in t

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