Record of the 22nd APCCA
Conference Business
Preliminary Business Meeting
During the afternoon of Sunday 13 October 2002, before the welcome reception and official opening, a preliminary business meeting was held to discuss a number of details about the conference programme. The meeting was attended by the heads of nearly all delegations that had arrived at that time, together with the Coordinator, Professor David Biles, and Co-rapporteur, Dr Neil Morgan.
The first item of business for the meeting was the selection of presenters for Agenda Items 2, 3 and 4. It was pointed out that all nations would be given an opportunity to address the conference for up to ten minutes under Agenda Item I on Contemporary Issues, but for the next three items a smaller number of presenters would be desirable so that ample time was left for general discussion. For Agenda Item 2 on Outsourcing, Korea, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Australia offered to make presentations, and for Agenda Item 3 on Staff Recruitment and Training, offers were made by Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong (China) and Australia (with China and Thailand being added later). For Agenda Item 4, on Reception and Classification, offers were made by Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and Indonesia. All of these offers were accepted by the meeting, and it was pointed out that other delegations would have many opportunities to make informal interventions in the discussion of these topics.
The next item of business was the appointment of an ad hoc sub committee to develop an agenda for the 23rd APCCA and recommend its findings to the final business meeting of the full conference. Delegations offering to be members of this sub committee were Australia, Hong Kong (China), New Zealand, Korea and Singapore. Members of these delegations were asked to seek the views of other delegates before a meeting of the sub committee on the following Thursday evening.
Next, the meeting was given a detailed summary of the Working Group report on Formalisation Issues which was held in Hong Kong (China) in July 2002. (This subject was discussed further at a Conference Business Session following the official opening and again at a special meeting on the following Wednesday.) This summary was presented by Hong Kong (China), with a power point presentation, and provoked some discussion and questions. Hong Kong (China) also presented the report of the APCCA Fund Administrator (which is reproduced in the appendices to this report). Warm appreciation was expressed to the Convenor and Members of the APCCA Finance Sub committee for their work during the previous year. The Hong Kong (China) delegation then also reported on the work of the permanent secretariat in relation to newsletters, the APCCA web site and regional correctional statistics.
Finally, the meeting was given an outline by the APCCA Coordinator on the manner in which the draft report of the conference would be produced with the aim of delivering copies of the draft report to all delegates on the following Thursday evening. (The draft report was actually circulated to delegates very late on the Thursday evening or early on the Friday morning, and at the final business session all delegates were asked to communicate any suggested changes to the substantive report to the Coordinator by 1 December 2002. A final version of conference report, with photographs, is expected to be circulated by the Indonesian conference secretariat in early 2003.)
Hosts for Future Conferences
At the business session of the conference following the official opening, the delegate from Fiji stated that, regretfully, his nation was not able to host the conference in 2003, and no alternative offer was made at that stage. Canada suggested Hong Kong to consider hosting the conference. This obtained the general support of other members. In the final business session of the conference, Hong Kong (China) offered to host the conference in 2003 on the condition that no subsidies would be provided. This offer was accepted with acclamation. Offers which had been made in previous years for Singapore to be the host in 2004, Korea to be the host in 2005, and New Zealand to be the host in 2006 were all confirmed, and this information was warmly welcomed by the conference.
Agenda Items for the 23rd APCCA
The ad hoc sub committee referred to above, met during the evening of Thursday 17 October with all nominated delegations being represented. The meeting considered the following agenda items which had been proposed from a number of different sources:
1. Mentally ill prisoners - how they are identified and how they are treated,
2. Insurance issues with the medical treatment of prisoners,
3. The application of psychology to the treatment of prisoners,
4. Promoting desirable prison officer culture and behaviour.
5. Techniques to reduce overcrowding including non custodial sentences and early release schemes,
6. Prisoner disciplinary procedures,
7. Dealing with prisoners complaints and grievances,
8. Prison industry partnerships,
9. Dealing with major prison disorders,
10. Training of senior correctional managers,
11. The rights and management of unconvicted persons in custody,
12. The relevance and impact of the United Nations’ Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and,
13. Responding to improper and/or unacceptable behaviour by prison staff.
Before considering these suggestions in detail, the sub committee decided that it would recommend that the general format followed in 2001 and 2002 be repeated and that Agenda Item 1 would remain as Contemporary Issues in Corrections, with all delegations being allowed up to ten minutes to address the full conference. It would also be recommended, however, that, where possible, more attention be devoted to problems and their solution, rather than descriptions of the operation of prison systems. The political, social, economic, and legal context of corrections in each nation would, nevertheless, continue to be regarded as relevant to this item.
The sub committee also decided that it would endeavour to identify suitable topics for specialist workshops, which would be held simultaneously, as well as the other substantive agenda items for the full conference.
After careful consideration of all of the suggestions the sub committee decided to recommend, and the full conference subsequently accepted, the following agenda for the 23rd APCCA:
Agenda Item I : Contemporary Issues in Corrections
Agenda Item 2 : Dealing with Prisoners’ Complaints and Grievances
Agenda Item 3 : Promoting Desirable Prison Officer Culture and Behaviour
Agenda Item 4 : Major Prison Disturbances: Causes and Responses
Specialist Workshops
(Two of the three topics listed below to be selected by the conference host in the light of offers to make presentations by participating nations.)
14. Prison Industry Partnerships (New Zealand offered a presentation)
15. Training and Succession Planning for Senior Correctional Managers, and
16. Techniques for Reducing Prison Overcrowding including Non-custodial sentences and Early Release Schemes.
The APCCA Coordinator, Professor Biles, indicated to the meeting that he would elaborate on this outline in the Discussion Guide which should be available in early 2003.
Conference Resolutions
It was formally moved that :
This conference resolve to accept the Working Group report and recommendations and direct the APCCA Secretariat to finalise the draft joint declaration attached to the summary of the comments that was prepared and distributed by the Secretariat to all delegates on the first day of the conference.
Moved : New Zealand Seconded: Philippines
Carried by acclamation.
An assurance was given that the joint declaration would be ready for signing before the end of the day.
Finalised by the APCCA Secretariat, the joint declaration (Appendix H) was signed by the representatives of delegations attending the conference.
Following an earlier discussion of the impact of the bombing in Bali just before the conference started, it was moved that;
This conference resolve that a donation of $10,000 (US) be made from the APCCA Fund to the Balinese victims of the bombing tragedy of 12 October 2002.
Moved: Canada Seconded: New Zealand
Carried unanimously.
Post conference note:
Pursuant to the above resolution, the APCCA Fund Administrator, for and on behalf of the APCCA, sent a sum of $10,000 (US) via telegraphic transfer on 30 October 2002 to the bank account “posko penanganan kasus 12 oktober 2002” (Account No.: 010.22.01258-1 of Bank Pembangunan Daerah Bali). This is an official account appointed by the Indonesia Government to receive financial aid to the victims of the bomb blast.