Preliminary Business Meeting

On the afternoon of Sunday 21st October, before the welcome reception and official opening, a preliminary business meeting was held to discuss a number of details about the conference program. The meeting was attended by the heads of all delegations which had arrived at that time. At the meeting the APCCA Coordinator, Professor David Biles, reminded delegates that a call would be made before the close of the conference for Nations to offer themselves as future hosts, and he pointed out that the host had not been settled for the year 2003. The meeting also was reminded of the arrangements for the production of a draft report before the conference closed, and presenters were identified for agenda items two, three and four. The arrangements for the selection of agenda items for the 22nd APCCA were reviewed and it was agreed that suggestions would be submitted in writing and that an ad hoc agenda sub-committee would meet on the afternoon before the final day to make recommendations on this subject to the full conference.

The meeting then considered the report of the working group which met in Singapore in June 2001 to make recommendations on APCCA support services needed for the future. This report was outlined by Mr Benny NG from Hong Kong, the convenor of the working group. A summary of the working group report is reproduced as Appendix E of this report.

The meeting noted with appreciation the report of the APCCA Finance Sub-committee (reproduced as Appendix F), and also recorded its appreciation for the work that had been done in the past year in relation to the APCCA Newsletter (by New South Wales) and the APCCA internet web site (by the Australian Institute of Criminology under contract).

Hosts for Future Conferences

At the final session devoted to APCCA Business on Friday 26 October the subject of hosts for future conferences was raised again. The delegation from Indonesia confirmed the offer that they made at the 20th APCCA in Sydney to host the 22nd APCCA in Dempasar, in the Province of Bali in the year 2002. This offer was warmly welcomed by the conference.

The representative of Fiji then informed the conference that, subject to confirmation by his Minister, Fiji would like to be the host in the year 2003, and this was also warmly welcomed by the conference. The leader of the delegation from Singapore then reconfirmed its offer to be the host in the year 2004, and this, again, was warmly welcomed by the conference.

The leader of the delegation from New Zealand then indicated that New Zealand could possibly be the host in 2006, and the leader of the delegation form the Republic of Korea made a similar offer for 2005. Both of these offers were also warmly welcomed.

In summary, subject to confirmation, the future APCCA hosts will be:

2002 Indonesia

2003 Fiji

2004 Singapore

2005 Korea

2006 New Zealand

It was observed by a number of delegates that APCCA could look to the future with more confidence than at any other time in its history.

Agenda Items for the 22nd APCCA

Following the earlier request for suggested agenda items to be submitted in writing, a total of 15 suggestions were received, as shown on the following list:

Hong Kong (China)

1. Correctional Standards, Service Quality and Benchmarking

2. Recruitment, Training and Career Development of Correctional Staff

3. Prison Discipline and Grievance Procedures Singapore

4. Prison Industries

5. Privatisation of Prisons - Outsourcing of Services

6. The Prison Department's Role in the Aftercare of Inmates in Australia

7. The Measurement of Risk of Re-offending

8. Contemporary Developments in the Treatment of Drug Offending China

9. Community Participation in Corrections

10. The Entry Management and Education of Offenders

11. Pre-release Preparation of Offenders

12. The Correction of Offenders on the Basis of Classification

13. The Rehabilitation of Offenders with Long Sentences Canada

14. The Management of Elderly Offenders

15. Offenders Who Require Multi-Agency Support

The ad hoc Agenda Committee considered this list and noted that there was considerable overlap between a number of the suggestions. The ad hoc Committee, after lengthy discussion, settled the recommendations that it would make to the full conference in relation to the first three agenda items and two specialist workshops, but requested the APCCA Coordinator to have further discussions with the Chinese delegation (who were unfortunately unable to be present at the meeting) in order to settle the wording of the proposed fourth agenda item. Those discussions were held on the following morning, and the program outlined below was subsequently recommended to the full conference and accepted without dissent or amendment.

1. National Report on Contemporary Issues in Corrections

This would follow the practice established in recent years and all nations would be expected to make presentations. However, the APCCA Coordinator was asked to make it even more clear in the Discussion Guide that the maximum time allowed for each presentation would be ten minutes and the Conference Chair would be asked to strictly enforce this time limit.

For agenda items 2, 3 and 4, while all nations would be asked to prepare written reports, presentations at the conference would only be expected from six or seven nations for each item in order to allow more time for discussion and the exchange of views.

2. Outsourcing of Correctional Services

This agenda item will provide an opportunity for delegations to provide details, together with explanations, of any arrangements whereby correctional agencies either purchase or sub-contract with other agencies for the provision of specified goods or services. For example, in some small institutions arrangements may be made for meals for prisoners to be supplied by a local shop or restaurant rather than having the cooking done in the prison. Similarly, in the interests of maintaining high standards, arrangements may be made for health services to be provided by a regional or municipal hospital rather than the prison itself. A number of nations also have cooperative arrangements with business or industry for the administration of prison industries which are seen as mutually beneficial. In other situations, some aspects of prison security, including the transport and escort of prisoners, may be undertaken under contract by agencies other than the prison itself, and, ultimately, in some nations the complete management of some correctional institutions may be undertaken by private agencies. Even in those nations where private prisons are philosophically not acceptable, some elements of outsourcing of correctional services may still be observed.

3. Recruitment, Training and Career Development of Correctional Staff

Proposed by Hong Kong (China) this agenda item obviously focuses on an issue of central concern to correctional administrators from all nations, as no correctional service will be better than the staff who do the job. It is noted that recruitment, training and career development are three separate concepts, even though they are closely related. It is also noted that the term 'correctional staff' could apply to people working in community correctional services, such as probation and parole, as well as those working in custodial settings, such as prisons and remand centres, and also to those working in semi-custodial settings, such as periodic detention and home detention, in those nations where these options are in use. With at least two, and perhaps three, quite different types of correctional work, the question arises of whether or not different forms of recruitment and training are needed for different types of work, or whether an integrated correctional workforce is possible and desirable. Also, the relevance of higher education at university level to correctional work is a subject that may provoke some differences of opinion.

4. The Reception and Classification of Prisoners as the Key to Rehabilitation

The original version of this agenda item, which is an amalgamation of different suggestions, contained the term 'entry management'. This term has been replaced by the more familiar 'reception', but it is accepted that the original wording, even though unfamiliar, had the advantage of emphasising that the reception of prisoners into prisons, especially for first-time prisoners, is a process requiring management if it is to be the start of a constructive and positive experience for the offenders involved. Furthermore, the integration of reception and classification procedures, leading to appropriate placement, as well as education, training, treatment and work experiences, with the full cooperation of the offender, may be seen as the ideal of any modern correctional system.

Specialist Workshops

In addition to the main conference program outlined above, it was proposed that two specialist workshops be conducted simultaneously at an appropriate time during the conference. These will address:

Correctional Standards, Service Quality, Benchmarking and the Measurement of the Risk of Reoffending and Community Participation and Engagement in Corrections.

It is proposed that the first of these workshops be presented by New Zealand and the second by a panel comprising representatives of Hong Kong (China), Singapore and Canada.

Conference Resolutions

In relation to the report of the working group which met in Singapore to consider future APCCA support services, the following resolution was moved by Australia, seconded by New Zealand and carried by a majority of the delegates present.

"1.The Recommendations of the Working Party be accepted and implemented.

2. The APCCA Coordinator and his Co-rapporteur continue in the proposed new roles of Rapporteur and Co-rapporteur on terms and conditions outlined in the Working Party report for three years, after which the processes in the Working Party report will be accepted.

3. A working group be tasked to address possible arrangements for putting APCCA on a clearer footing for the future. APCCA members to indicate who wishes to participate and a team be chosen from those so interested."

In relation to finance the following resolution was moved by New Zealand, seconded by Canada and passed unanimously.

"The report of the APCCA Finance Sub-committee be accepted with appreciation of the work done by the Convenor and Members of that Sub-committee. It was also noted that Australia would appoint a replacement Member for Dr Leo Keliher who was about to leave his present position."

Further to the resolution in relation to the Working Group report on future APCCA support services, the following resolution was moved by New Zealand, seconded by Canada and passed by a majority of delegates present.

"The matter of an appropriate honorarium for the Rapporteur (and Co-rapporteur) be considered by the Finance Sub-committee, reported to the Advisory Committee and settled before the next conference."

Before closing the final business session of the conference, the Chair, Mr Siwa Sangmanee, offered his warm thanks to Professor Biles and Mr Morgan for their work in producing a draft report of the conference. He also thanked all delegates and accompanying persons for their cooperation. He then wished Indonesia well in running the conference in 2002 and expressed the hope that he would be able to attend. And he invited all present to enjoy the Closing Ceremony later that evening.