The 20th APCCA Conference will be hosted by the
New South Wales Department of Corrective Services from 5 to 10 November this
year. It will be held at the Carlton Crest Hotel in the heart of Sydney's
Central Business District. Invitations have been sent out to all APCCA members.
If, however, any jurisdictions or countries have not received an invitation and
would like to attend, they should immediately make contact with the Conference
organiser,
Ms Amanda McDonald, at the NSW Department of Corrective Services, PO Box 3 1,
Sydney, NSW Australia 200 1. Her fax is (61 2) 9289 1051 and phone is (61 2)
9289 1475.
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The Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA) Fund has received contributions totalling US$18,970 since the 19th APCCA held in October last year.
Requested contributions of US$13,975 were received from the five mainland states of Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. Voluntary contributions amounting to US$4,995 were made by Fiji (US$ 1, 000), the Philippines (US$500), Thailand (US$500), and Vietnam (US$2,995). An updated financial statement will be presented in the 2011 APCCA scheduled for early November in Sydney.
The APCCA Fund was established in December 1997 as a financial source to provide a small fee and administrative expenses to the coordinators and co-rapporteurs who have been supporting APCCA on an honorary basis.
Member nations or territories who wish to
contribute to the Fund can either pay by bank draft in US dollars payable to
"Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators" or by telegraphic
transfer to the Fund's US dollars bank account 002-9-643038 with the Hong kong
and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited at I Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong.
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Fiji, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are
gratefully acknowledged for their contributions to the APCCA fund.
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The APCCA Coordinator, Professor David Biles, made a courtesy call on the
Singapore Prison Service at the end of June 2000. Professor Biles and wife were
returning from a holiday in England, where he had discussions with staff of the
Home Office Research Unit and visited the International Centre for Prison
Studies of Kings College, University of London.
While in Singapore, Professor Biles held discussions with senior correctional staff about the forthcoming, conference in Sydney and the longer term future of APCCA. He also inspected the Tanah Merah Prison and was shown the plans and site for the future development of the Changi Prison Complex. He was impressed by the use of high technology, especially the video conferencing facilities used for some preliminary court hearings and also as an option to some family visits.
Professor Biles and his wife were later entertained at lunch by Mr Chua Chin
Kiat, Director of the Singapore Prison Service. Also present at the lunch were
Mr Lohman Yew, Deputy Director, and Mr Jason Wong, Assistant Director
(Operations). Mr Chua confirmed to Professor Biles the Singapore offer to host
the conference in 2004.
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The Commissioner of Prisons for Fiji, Mr Aisea Taoka, recently wrote to the APCCA Coordinator, Professor David Biles, informing, him that, as a result of the continuing political crisis in his country, it was unlikely that Fiji would be able to host the conference in the year 2001. He wrote "Due to developments, there will be a financial crisis and already directives are being implemented to minimise Government expenditure under the circumstances." Professor Biles expressed his understanding and sympathy for the difficulties being experienced in Fiji.
In the light of this information, Processor Biles takes this opportunity to make a general appeal to any nation in the region to offer themselves as the host for 2001. It is very important, he said, to have at least a tentative suggestion before the 2001 APCCA in Sydney in November 2000. The final decision will be made at this conference.
Any nation, or jurisdiction within a nation, in
the region that could possibly be the host for 2001 is urgently requested to
communicate with the APCCA Coordinator, preferably by fax on +61 2 6232 4463.
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All nations in the Asia and Pacific region are
asked to complete and return the requested statistical information to the APCCA
Coordinator as soon as possible. This applies to nations attending, and those
unable to attend, the 2011 APCCA in Sydney. The information supplied will be
collated and included in the report of the conference. To those nations which
have already forwarded their statistics, sincere thanks are offered.
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The full report of the 19th APCCA held in
Shanghai in October 1999 is now available on the APCCA web site (www.apcca.org).
This report also includes the colour photographs taken at the conference. The
Discussion Guide for the
20th APCCA is also now on the site. The web site is now receiving approximately
1000 "hits" each month coming from a very wide list of different nations.
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by Ms Melody IP, Department Chair, Department of Social Rehabilitation, Macau SAR
Year 1999 was an important year for Macau. On December 191 1999, the sovereignty of Macau had been transferred back to China. After the hand over took place, there were Chances in the government structure, and the correctional service system was one of them.
Currently, in Macau SAR, the prison management is no longer under the Direction of Justice Services, it's now under the Direction of Security Services; however, the Department of Social Rehabilitation and the Juvenile Correctional Institute remain being supervised by the direction of Justice Services. And the prison has been renamed "Macau Prison" instead Of "Coloane Prison".
Right before the hand over, a couple of new laws related to the correctional system had been issued. On November 22nd 1999, the regime of jurisdictional intervention for the execution of prison penal and the security measures of imprisonment (Law no.86/ 99/M) was issued. This regime enforces a number of new regulations that benefit the prisoners. For instance, judges should visit the prison and listen to the complaints of the prisoners; trustable prisoners can get experimental release (holidays), and etc..
As our 19th APCCA report had mentioned that a
new Juvenile regime would be issued by the end of that year in Macau, on October
2511 1999, the Juvenile Educational and Social Protection Regime (Law no.65/99M)
was issued and became effective in Macau SAR. This regime was elaborated to
combat the actual situation of Juvenile offences in Macau SAR, it created many
various measures to apply to different juvenile cases, and the regime is
applicable for 12 to 21 years old juveniles. We can see that this regime allows
us to follow up the juveniles up to 21 years old instead of 18 years old
(according to the old regime in Macau). And the law is aiming in the educational
direction to modify the juvenile delinquents and it extends the educational
period up to 21 years old.
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By Ms Geraldine Kong, Staff Officer (Research & Planning), Singapore Prison Service
The Prisons Management System, otherwise known as PMS, is a S$9.5M Information Technology system that forms a critical component of the Singapore Prison Service's IT Masterplan. Its objective is to use information technology to help streamline and enhance the processing and use of information on our inmates.
The PMS is a system designed by prison officers with knowledge of and experience in daily operations, including admissions of prisoners, visits, medical care and rehabilitation. The various components of PMS are designed to enhance and improve our operational processes and procedures.
The idea of building the PMS started in 1996 with the Strategic IT plan of the Prison Service. In early 1997, several teams of officers from across the Service got together to brainstorm and think about how to use IT to streamline and enhance our operational capabilities. They drew up their proposals by July 1997. These were approved by the Prisons Directorate. The PMS was officially launched in April 1998.
Computers are a key component of the PMS. In a
break with past practice, the Singapore Prison Service has introduced computers
into the halls and other inmate areas. These will be housed in specially
designed enclosures. . The PMS also uses thumbprint readers, bar-code scanners
and optical mark readers. In addition. digital cameras are placed in the record
office of each prison to give us the capability to capture digital photographs
of the inmate find his possessions.
Data Capture Upon Admission
Upon an inmate's admission. the PMS captures the inmate's thumbprint and
personal particulars (e.- name, address), takes his picture and performs
property recording. If the inmate has a previous conviction. the system will be
able to retrieve his records and update the database. Inmate records will all be
updated via the computer, and information ranging, from the inmate's particulars
to his canteen purchase requests will be at the fingertips of our staff.
Canteen Purchases
Taking canteen purchases as an example, inmates are now required to shade a
specially designed form when requesting for such purchases. Prison officers need
only collect the duly completed forms and slot them into a scanner. The PMS will
then compute and generate the canteen purchase lists. There is no need to go
through a tedious manual compilations and checking process. The system is also
able to detect an inmate who has his canteen privileges revoked and
automatically disallow the purchase.
Bar-Coded Wrist Tag
Tagging inmates with a bar-coded wrist tag will allow us to monitor their
whereabouts. With barcode scanners distributed at halls, workshops, dispensaries
and other places, our staff need only to ensure that inmates scan their tags
upon arrival and before leaving a location. There will no longer be the need to
manually fill in entries in the hall journals. A physical count of the inmates
will be performed as a Counter check.
Visits
As for visits, our officers can now check the location of the inmate through
the PMS and notify the relevant officer to escort him for the visit. This
ensures that visits are running on schedule. which makes things much easier for
our inmates, their families, and our officers.
Thumbprint
Another interesting aspect of the PMS is the fingerprinting technology It
ensures that we send the right inmates for court hearing, transfer the right
inmates to other locations and release the right persons. As their thumbprint
record is captured upon admission, a simple scanning of both their tag, and
their thumbprint at the security control office is enough to verify their
identity. With this, not even twins can Get away, not unless they have the same
thumbprint!
These are but a few capabilities of the PMS. So far, the admissions, transfers, discharge and inmate access modules have been fully implemented in all our institutions. It is likely that the full-scale implementation of all the modules of the PMS (which includes the medical and rehabilitation modules) will be completed sometime next year.
In this day and age, organisations in both the
private and public sector are relying more and more on technology to get work
done more effectively and efficiently. It is no different for the Singapore
Prisons Department. The PMS is a prime example of how this can be achieved.
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by Julian Faigan, New South Wales Department of Corrective Services
Late March and it's been raining for what seems like weeks: there is certainly no water shortage at the Wildlife Care Centre, Windsor, to the north west of the Sydney CBD. As SCO Peter Daniels splashes up to the door of the Centre's newly completed administration and education block, he is closely followed and noisily harassed by an extremely insistent magpie. "It's only about three months old," Peter explains, "and it spends the day crying for food." The bird has no fear, knowing it is in a safe haven.
The magpie is only one of a vast number of animals which have been cared for by staff and inmates at the Wildlife Centre. A veritable Noah's Ark of the halt and lame has passed this way.
Inmates and sick animals make a combination which is irresistible to the press and media interest in the pro-ram has been considerable. The Centre has been the subject of numerous television programs and journalists have come from Sydney, around Australia and overseas to report on the work done by the staff and inmates. The visit by Rolf Harris and a BBC television crew featured in a recent Bulletin. Other crews have come from France and Germany. The Olympic Games will no doubt add to the coverage.
Established for more than four years, the Centre has enjoyed a very steady work force, with the same three officers over most of that period. In charge of the operation is SCO Peter Daniels and the two other officers are IC CO Darren Barlow and IC CO Ted Parkinson. Each officer has brought his own strengths and interests to the position. Over seventy inmates have worked at the Centre. Peter Daniels came to this country as a young, teenager from the UK. "I had no real idea of what Australian animals were," he now recalls. With almost a decade in corrections, he worked at the Special Care Unit at Long Bay, at Long Bay Hospital and moved to John Morony when it opened. "I was here when this program was started and have been with it since that time. It had its detractors at first but now many of those people would like to work here".
Peter looks after the Centre's administration quite apart from his hands-on work with the animals. After hours, he is a foster carer and rescuer for WIRES so animals in distress are never too far away. He has found time to attend the zoo keeping course at Taronga Park Zoo. This course, run though Ultimo TAFE College, is the standard requirement nowadays for people working with animals and Peter is nearing the end of these particular studies. He has already completed courses on just about every animal species through WIRES, Macquarie University and other providers. "I have lots of bit of paper," he admits.
Darren Barlow has also been with the Centre since it opened. "I have been a volunteer with WIRES for some time and at the Centre I am involved in a lot of hands-on work with the animals." Like Peter, Darren has done many relevant courses. "Through Hawkesbury TAFE I have studied animal anatomy and physiology, as well as surgical nursing and mammal care." Darren feels that he is lucky to be in a situation where his professional and personal interests coincide.
Ted Parkinson is the handyman of the trio. "I am more involved with the grounds and buildings than I am with animal care as such," he says. "As more animals come in, there is always something to do, something needing, attention and that is my major strength." Ted has been twelve years with the Department and worked at Parramatta and Emu Plains before going to John Morony five years ago.
All three officers see the wildlife care program as offering a very therapeutic environment for inmates. They all see the Centre as being an excellent management tool. "Inmates are less likely to be a problem when they are working here," Peter says. "Of the seventy or more inmates who have been through the Centre, some have continued their association with carina for animals."
The Centre caters for around 150 animals of varying shapes and sizes. "We can house up to 200 animals," Peter says. "They are Generally orphaned, sick, injured or abandoned. We also deal with animals which people have tried to smuggle out of the country." When you deal with animals, amusing incidents inevitably happen. Peter, Darren and Ted know that this is very true at John Morony's Wildlife Centre.
Darren recalls: "An inmate had read somewhere that an animal will not attack you if it is above your line of sight. So this guy was lying in the ground, eying this wombat - about 30kgs of it - and the wombat, possibly sensing it was on to a good thing, bit him three times. We feel the theory may hold true for gorillas but we don't get too many of them at Windsor."
The Wildlife Centre has no greater fan than Senior Assistant Commissioner Ron Woodham who has promoted it from the start. "The new building there is not only an administration centre but also has an educational space and a vet's room," he says. "The program of caring for sick animals will be extended from Windsor to Emu Plains and also to the new facility at Kempsey. Women inmates will be involved as well. And Kirkconnell is getting involved because we are building cages there for native birds which are cared for at Windsor but have to be released back into the wild on the western side of the Blue Mountains. The Windsor operation now has its own licence from the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This recognises the value of the program and the quality of work undertaken there by staff and inmates."
Ron Woodham recently took a stoup of people
from the Office of the Ombudsman on a tour of the Centre: "They were genuinely
impressed. They were able to see that this is an excellent program which brings
out the best in everyone involved. I believe the Wildlife Centre is of enormous
benefit to the natural environment besides setting a standard for other
correctional programs to match."
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by Julian Faigan, New South Wales Department of Corrective Services
An overflowing court room on Tuesday 4 April 2000 joined Their Honours Gay Murrell SC and Neil Milson in applauding two participants in the Drug Court trial program at Parramatta in Western Sydney. Both men had successfully undergone the strict supervision which characterises the pro-ram. "Neither of today's graduates has ever been sanctioned for a breach of his Drug Court program," Judue Murrell told the court.
In her comments Judge Murrell -the Drug Court's senior judge- gave a brief background to the offences which had seen both men admitted to the trial. "Drug dependency," she reminded her audience, "is a chronic relapsing condition." Referring to the two graduating participants, she said that the day before each had received his final sentence, a good behaviour bond.
"The community is fortunate," Her Honour continued, "that these two intelligent and capable men are no longer committing crimes. Nor are they imprisoned at public expense. They can now make a positive contribution by leading law-abiding and productive lives."
His Honour Judge Neil Milson thanked the entire Drug Court team for their input into the Court's first year of operation. He paid particular tribute to the Department's Probation and Parole officers who work with trial participates: "Bob Hogendyk, Julie Lindsay. Margaret Cassin and Roslyn Catell deserve recognition for the extent to which they have become part of the lives of these participants, as they and their colleagues continue to do with the hundreds of other participants."
Since the Drug Court began its trial in February 1999, 261 offenders have been placed on a Drug Court program. Of these, 93 have been terminated by the Court, leaving 168 offenders on the program as of early April 2000.
The Drug Court is an excellent demonstration of
the combination of resources: apart from the judges and court officers, these
include officers of the Department of Corrective Services who administer the
designated court cells at Silverwater and Parramatta, the Probation and Parole
Service, Corrections Health Service, Legal Aid, the Office of the Public
Prosecutor and the NSW Police Service.
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by Julian Faigan, New South Wales Department of Corrective Services
In a quiet corner of Mulawa's expansive grounds, a group of inmates and their teacher tend a flourishing profusion of herbs, flowers, shrubs and trees - with a few chickens and ducks thrown in.
Mulawa is a maximum security women's correctional facility, about 15 km west of Sydney's city centre.
Jan Penklis has been coming to teach Mulawa inmates for six years. "The garden is only two years old," she explains. "I am a part time teacher of horticulture and permaculture here and I come every week from Padstow TAFE College. There are up to six girls in the class and I teach them a module on gardening with permaculture. It's a 40 hour course and they all receive a certificate of attainment at the end."
The garden in which Jan trains her willing students is completely run on the principles of permaculture, "It's totally organic," she says, "with no fertilizers, no pesticides and no chemicals."
While one inmate is piling waste matter onto the compost heap, others are weeding and tending the plants. These are very diverse: numerous herbs grow alongside "bush tucker" plants and in the shade of rapidly growing, trees - mulberry, orange, lemon and mandarin.
"Everything we crow is used," Jan says. "The hens and ducks eat any slugs in the garden and the girls eat the produce -including the regular supply of up to six eggs a day. It's great that they are learning about fresh food, too."
As a practical lesson in low energy philosophy,
the garden is a very enjoyable place to be and and Jan has no problems in
finding students. "I am really grateful to Governor Judy Leyshon." she says,
"and to Stuart Campbell before her. The staff here have been very supportive and
helpful, but most of all I am proud of the inmates I work with every day."
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by Norma Green1,
Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge, Correctional Service of Canada.
Okimaw Ohci (Thunder Hills) Healing Lodge (OOHL) is a thirty-bed healing lodge for federally sentenced Aboriginal women, located in the Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan. This facility has been in operation since October 1995.
The Federally Sentenced Women's Task Force report, "Creating Choices," recommended that five women's regional facilities be built including the Okimaw Ohci Healing, Lodge.
"Creating Choices" reinforces the findings of previous studies. It states that due to the small number of federally sentenced women (FSW), there are several issues that have placed this population at a disadvantage compared to men under a federal sentence :
Research2 has demonstrated that Aboriginal offenders (men and women) are granted release at a lower rate than non-Aboriginal people. Aboriginal federally sentenced women also have experienced higher rates of physical and sexual abuse compared to non-Aboriginal federally sentenced women. Substance abuse, primarily alcohol, is another key factor involved in their offense history and is much more pervasive than in the Caucasian offender population3.
1
PO Box 1929, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, SON 1 NO.
2 Corrections and Conditional Release
Statistical Overview, Table D2, p.56, (Ottawa, ON: Solicitor General
Canada, November, 1999).
3 See L.L. Motiuk and M. Nafekh,
Aboriginal offenders in corrections: A profile.
The Royal Commission on Aboriginal People reported that 95% of the male Aboriginal offenders in the Saskatchewan Penitentiary have been adopted, removed or displaced from their homes. Reports have shown that many Aboriginal people have been emotionally, physically and/or sexually abused in their childhood and youth. The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has built five regional facilities in the past five years. These facilities for federally sentenced women are presently operating in Alberta, Ontario. Quebec, Nova Scotia and the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge in Saskatchewan. "Creating Choices" recommended that a healing lodge be built in the Prairie region, as a high number of Aboriginal federally sentenced women are from this region.
The development of the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge was the result of a shared responsibility and partnership between CSC and Aboriginal people to ensure that it met the cultural and spiritual needs of federally sentenced Aboriginal women. The lodge is built to house up to thirty federally sentenced Aboriginal females and up to ten children under the age of four.
The Planning Circle (who is responsible for the planning of the Lodge) represented the communities of Maple Creek, Nekaneet, women's and Aboriginal organisations, and CSC. Elders from various First Nations played an important part of the planning group. There were additional consultations with female inmates from various institutions to ensure that pro-rams, services and resources would be adequate as well as needs/risk oriented.
The Planning Circle assisted in the development of the architectural design, job descriptions, staff selection process, and the staff development-training plan. The holistic healing strategy is the focus of the Lodge and the planning committee designed this with special care. On conclusion of the planning process, a smaller Circle called Kekiiiiwemkonttwiik (Keepers of the Healing, Lodge Vision) replaced the Planning, Circle. This committee meets regularly to monitor, provide support and guidance to the Kikawinaw in the operation of the Lodge. Several Planning Circle members are a part of Kekunwemk-onawuk to ensure that there is continuity in the operation of the Lodge.
All activities and programs are guided by the concept of Aboriginal healing. Healing is a lifelong process and the premise is that residents will start their road to healing at the Lodge. and will continue when they leave. Living without the pain of the effects of physical and sexual abuse, freedom from substance abuse through reconnection with Aboriginal culture, language and spirituality continues on a daily basis at the Healing Lodge. Core programs recommended under the Corrections and Condition Release Act, such as Substance Abuse Prevention. Living without Violence, Cognitive Living Skills, Literacy and Education are offered at the Healing Lodge, but they are presented in a Culturally and gender sensitive manner. An Elder is Usually part of the program.
Native Studies are taught where the positive history of First Nations is of paramount importance. This concept strengthens the positive role that the Aboriginal people have played in Our history. The residents regain pride in their race, increase their self-esteem and well-being.
Cultural activities include beadwork, sewing, drumming and singing. Many of the residents make star blankets, moccasins, dream-catchers, ribbon shirts and dresses which are sold to the public. Round dances are held once a month. The residents are responsible for the planning of these events. Members of the Nekaneet and Maple Creek communities participate in these events.
This program became a full-time program in August, 1997. The children live with their mothers and go to the Day Care Centre during the day, while the mother participates in programs. Children are an important part of the lives of Aboriginal and First Nations people. Children are considered close to the "Creator", and are special to Aboriginal families and communities. Therefore, having their children on site is important for offenders, and staff. The children bring, joy. hope and anticipation to everyone.
Elder services are available on a 24-hours basis, providing support, guidance, inspiration and hope to the residents and staff. If a crisis occurs at any time of the day or night the Elders are available to assist. The Elders provide traditional and contemporary teachings to both residents and staff. Elders' teachings are held twice weekly. Oral teachings could include the spiritual purposes for fasts, feasts and sundances, as well as the importance of family, communities, and respect.
The institution has made provisions for the services of a psychologist who is available to the women offenders two weeks out of each month. The psychologist is responsible for counseling and completing psychological assessments as the need arises. One-to-one counseling services fills the need for women to discuss their past abuse.
Counseling services, spiritual healing and program involvement is all part of the holistic healing of the residents. This integrated service has prevented major crisis situations from occurring when residents tend to self injure. There has not been a major incident at the Lodge.
The residents at the Healing Lodge continue to face challenges, frustrations and anger in their daily lives. Spiritual Circles are held in the Spiritual Lodge every morning. Generally, everyone shares feelings of joy, pain, frustration and hope in the Lodge. It is a safe place to talk about how you feel as all the discussions that are held there are in confidence. Anything that is said there must stay there. It is a place to learn patience and self control and to respect what others say.
Mediation and conflict circles are a daily part of life at the Lodge. If two residents who are roommates are not getting along, they are brought to a talking circle with an Elder present. Often, there is more than one resolution circle to deal with the issue. However, it does get resolved. The concept is that the resident will learn to deal with conflict and frustrations in a respectful manner in a safe environment. This will prepare them for the outside world where there will always be conflicts and frustrations to deal with.
For example, two residents were involved in a minor altercation, as they were both angry with one other. Both residents were interviewed to get all the facts and then brought together to discuss the problem. The situation was resolved after two meetings with both parties agreeing, to clean the Administration Building for two weeks. They had to work together to plan what each had to do. The result was that they learned to talk, plan and complete the duties that were expected of them. They became good friends and supportive of each other. They each stated that they had learned to deal with conflict and that if it had been done any other way, they would not have had the experience of working a problem out.
Talking and spiritual circles provide a safe and Supportive avenue to deal with all issues. It breaks down the hierarchy that is often perceived of staff. In a circle everyone is equal and all the information that is shared is a learning experience. Generally, everyone learns from listening to one another. Everyone learns to speak honestly and openly about life, family, experiences and feelings. Everyone feels that they have been heard, as they are not interrupted. The goal is in having talking circles become a part of a practice that can be taken into the outside world when the resident leaves. There is a great emphasis put on respect, in that we should treat others as we want to be treated.
"Creating Choices" emphasized a vision for change, as set out by the following principles:
The Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge has been in
operation for almost four years. The staff at the Lodge makes every effort to
follow the principles as outlined by "Creating Choices". We provide a safe and
supportive environment and treat the women with respect. We encourage the
residents to take control of their lives. Children living, at the Lodge
contribute to a positive and happy environment. Community members continue to
support the Lodge. The residents bring, their personal experiences and others
learn from these experiences. The Elders share their knowledge. Of the 50 women
released to date, six have re-offended.
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By Ms. Heather Blumenthal, Freelance Writer
Correctional Service of Canada
No one knows the lifer's experience better than a lifer- so who better to help a lifer succeed than another lifer?
Offenders who receive life sentences have very different needs than other offenders. Unlike most offenders, they do not have a fixed release date. They also face much longer periods of incarceration - a minimum of 12 years, as opposed to the average of 43 months.
"What does that do to relationships you once had on the outside... Can they be maintained for years and years?" asks Jim Murphy, a Project Officer in Community Operations.
But it is more than simply the tenth of the sentence. Lifers tend not to be experienced criminals, explains John Braithwaite. Most have killed in an aberrant moment - a fit of emotion or under the influence of substances - and, they don't have the experience in how to survive in an institution.
Now retired, John Braithwaite was a Deputy Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) in 1976, when the federal government abolished the death penalty and substituted long periods of incarceration. Today, there are 3,442 offenders serving life sentences, about one-third of whom are on lifetime parole supervision in the community. The Service recognized that a new approach would be needed to deal with the high number of offenders serving life sentences as a result of the 1976 legislation.
That is where Life Line comes in. This innovative service offered by the CSC employs lifers who have successfully been reintegrated into the community for at least five years, to help other lifers.
Life Line was developed by a "tripartite alliance" of the Correctional Service of Canada, the National Parole Board, and proponents of the Life Line concept, including a lifer on parole. A grant from the Donner Foundation financed a study of the c concept, which was released in 1990. The first In-reach worker be-an work in 199 1. In August 1998, Life Line was recognized as a "best practice" by the American Correctional Association.
"Life Line merits our support as a unique partnership providing opportunities for long-term offenders to contribute, to change, and to become responsible citizens," says current CSC Commissioner Ole Ingstrup.
Life Line is supervised by a National Resource Group, chaired by Mr. Braithwaite with representation from the CSC, the National Parole Board, voluntary correctional agencies, and Rene Durocher, a lifer representing In-reach workers. The service has three components: In-reach, community programming, and public awareness.
The key to Life Line's success is the In-reach worker - a lifer who has successfully reintegrated into the community for at least five years.
The first In-reach worker was Tom French, a former biker who was a diabetic, and was confined to a wheelchair as a result of a motorcycle accident. French, who died in 1996. characterized his job as keeping lifers "alive, sane, and out of trouble."
Today, nine In-reach workers in four regions help new inmates develop a "correctional career" that spans the length of their stay in the institution, to "work constructively from day one, while they're incarcerated, toward their hope for release," says Murphy, rather than drifting through their incarceration. In- reach workers work closely with parole officers to ensure a team approach to assist lifers.
In-reach workers provide living, proof to lifers that it is possible to survive their time in the institution. an indication that someone cares about them. They are also a living lesson to staff of the success of rehabilitation and reintegration.
A measure of Life Line's SUCCESS is the commitment by the Service to double the number of In-reach workers. Three new In-reach workers have recently been hired in the Ontario Region. One is a published writer and artist, one is a youth worker, one is an ordained minister, and all three have university degrees earned while serving, their sentences.
Once released on parole, a lifer faces new challenges: how to reintegrate into a community, and into relationships, that have chanced dramatically since he or she was last out of the institution.
The lifer's relationship with the In-reach worker- may continue. But it is now the parole officer who is the main resource responsible for helping to steer lifers through the range of community programs that are available.
St. Leonard's House, in Windsor, offers the only dedicated residential facility for newly released lifers. Elsewhere. lifers spend their first months outside an institution in facilities ,geared toward individuals with determinate sentences, and receive needed services from the larger Community.
Activities under the Community programming area of the Life Line service can range from day trips to introduce the lifer to a dramatically changed society, to assist with learning how to live independently, and to help find and keep a job.
"This aspect of the Life Line service is so important," Murphy says, "that the Service is considering whether- there should be a separate category of worker, such as an "out-reach worker," to focus on helping the one-third of all lifers under supervision in the community
"Without Life Line, lifers will be released into the community with inadequate preparation, assistance, and supervision. I believe anyone in prison for 25 years, who is will to work with the Life Line program must want to become a contributing member of society."
Sandra Atkin, Victim
Correctional Services of Canada
ABBOTSFORD, B.C.- A Handi-Dart bus pulls up to the front entrance of the building. An elderly man is pushed to the bus in his wheelchair and is helped -in-gingerly by the driver into the small bus, which is used to provide transportation for people who are physically challenged.
It is a typical. every day scene in the Community, but this scene is now being repeated daily in an atypical place - Sumas Community Correctional Centre.
The number of elders offenders in Canada's institutions is growing and the Pacific Region has initiated a project to address the problem of providing a humane system of caring for the senior citizens of its inmate population.
The Handi-Dart bus is now a regular visitor to the facility. It's cheaper than a taxi and the offenders are on tight budgets.
Most Canadians would have an easier time imagining federal offenders on motorcycles instead of wheelchairs.
Three housing units at Sumas CCC have been dedicated to accommodate the elderly and infirm offenders. Many of them have serious difficulty in caring properly for themselves. They are weak and many suffer from a variety of debilitating illnesses. The majority of them are serving long sentences. Some of them will die here.
The number of older offenders in the CSC is -rowing, at a much faster rate than that of younger offenders.
Inmates who are 50 years of age and older now comprise 12 percent ( 1,600) of the institutional Population. Thirty-eight percent of the lifers -group will be 55 years old or older before they are eligible for parole.
The older inmate group includes those who have been incarcerated for a long period and have grown old in prison-, repeat offenders (chronic recidivists) who have been incarcerated numerous times-, and those who are serving their first sentence. There has been an increase of 500 inmates in this group over the past four years.
Interestingly, this graying of inmates is not confined to Canada. The number of elderly inmates in the United States has ballooned by 750 percent over the past 20 years. There are nearly 50,000 prisoners aged 55 and older in state and federal prisons in the U.S.
Geriatric offenders are estimated to Cost up to three times more to maintain in a regular institution and their health costs cannot be shared with, or offset by. provincial government health plans.
"This is something,, we had to do." said Jack Stewart, Senior Parole Officer at the CCC, and the person responsible for operating the RELIEF program.
The Sumas CCC project is called the RELIEF program. RELIEF stands for Reintegration Effort For Long-term Infirm and Elderly Federal Offenders.
The program is unique in Canada not only because of the concentration of elderly offenders in one facility. It is also special because the infirm offenders are being cared for by other, younger offenders who have been trained as care-giver's aide in each of the dedicated units.
There are four infirm offenders, one care-giver's aide in each of the dedicated units.
The care-givers were trained initially at medium-security Mountain Institution to provide basic assistance in areas that included wheelchair pushing, helping inmates remember to come for their treatments at the institution's Health Clinic, housekeeping and hygiene issues.
The care-givers who were involved with the program soon recognized the requirement for further training in order to meet the needs of their other peers.
Mountain Institution implemented a program of care for long term offenders. This program consisted of training of peer counselors in basic living skills. chronic and infectious diseases. The care-givers have been trained to provide housekeeping services to the disabled and assist the more vulnerable inmates in maintaining a healthy lifestyle while incarcerated.
The training for offenders consists of CPR, St. John's Ambulance, AIDS-101, Healing Your Spirit, and Dealing with Grief and Bereavement. This program has been highly successful to both the Aboriginal and other ethnic groups, as spiritual leaders from all denominations have provided sessions on grief, bereavement and dying,'
Offenders throughout the program demonstrate and use their knowledge and skills gained from core programs, ie. cognitive living skills and anger management. The care-giver group meets weekly with Health Services and security to discuss any issues concerning client care.
Care-givers are taught to look after the offender suffering with AIDS. They are supportive and encourage the offenders not to isolate themselves. They strive to assist them to find meaningful employment and stay motivated in life. The offenders who have taken the care-giving program are well respected within the population and are always in demand. They have been carefully screened and recommended by their case management team as suitable to take the program.
Through this program offenders learn to care about others and to be a friend to another in need. They are part of the caring community and provide a valuable service to the prison population. Mountain Institution currently has ten inmate caregivers.
Mr. Stewart said there are proposals to expand the project to include 14 infirm offenders and 10 care-givers. However, getting the care-givers released from medium security Mountain Institution is an obstacle to the RELIEF Program, he says. and there is a need to train care-givers at other facilities.
"We know there are enough guys at Mountain who have been trained to participate in the program," Mr. Stewart said, "but they are having trouble for a number of reasons getting released to the CCC."
Acquiring, more care-givers is essential because "this is the future of Sumas." Mr. Stewart added. He said the plan is to turn the CCC into "a village" for infirm and elderly offenders. "The concept of a village … is still evolving," he added.
The first group in the program was introduced at Sumas CCC on January 16, 1999. It consisted of five elderly offenders and two care-givers.
The facility's capacity is 80, with double-bunking. Its count today is around 55.
Sumas Director Ken Mattinson said the CSC needs this type of facility, taking into consideration the growing needs of its graying population. "This hasn't been done anywhere in Canada before ... with federal offenders," he added.
The program has led to increased links with medical doctors, hospitals and a wide variety of agencies and organizations that can assist with the work.
Care givers currently take a three-month course on all aspects of providing comfort and care for the infirm and elderly.
Randy is a serious man who looks as if he would fit in very well in a lumber camp. His gruff appearance belies his compression and his tenderness when he is providing care to one of his elderly charges at the CCC.
"We don't consider them our patients, they're our friends," he pointed out. "We just try to give these guys a comfortable day. We make sure they're warm, well fed and rested."
His chores include ensuring that his friends take their medication. Helping them to shower and make their beds, helping them to bed in and out of their wheelchairs and to get around, and to help keep their rooms clean.
He said he enjoys his work with these offenders but he was shaken up when one of the patients died of cancer. He said it was his task to help the man die with dignity. "That's what we do - we help each other."
Randy was busy helping an offender named Les who has been at Sumas CCC since the care-giver program began. He is confined to a wheelchair.
Les was playing hockey 30 months ago. Randy said. But today his body is weakening. as he Suffers from cerebral atrophy with progressive deterioration.
Les is still capable of grooming the cats in the ARK Program which is a joint Sumas CCC/SPCA venture to care for and house cats. Les said this is excellent therapy for him. He added that there was nothing for him to do in his previous institution.
He also described Sumas CCC as much "more accommodating" to him as a challenged person than his previous institution.
He related how Helpful Randy is to him and added that Randy even helped him to build his garden.
He added that he is "honored" to be here."
Another care-giver. James, explained that the three units for the elderly and infirm are differentiated by the level of care required by the offenders in each house.
One house has offenders who need a high level of care and is equipped basically to accommodate seriously challenged or handicapped people." This is an intensive care home." said James who has an impressive array of health-care certificates. "Other houses are for guys who are semi-independent."
Randy and James keep detailed logs on each patient/friend.
"It they can't speak, we speak for them."
The logs keeps track of the patients' likes and dislikes, their allergies and other related facts.
Randy and James often provide more than physical nurturing. As Les pointed out, "I can take Randy and James aside. I can talk with them one on one.
The program has been judged a success to date.
A proposal has been submitted to expand the RELIEF program. "to assume a larger and more structured role in the reintegration of elderly and infirm offenders in the Pacific Region" It will entail four self-contained, six-bedroom houses.
One house Would accommodate up to six high level residents who require 24-hour, awake. care-giver availability due to the severity of their medical conditions, disabilities and mobility problems. Six care-givers would provide constant coverage in this house on a rotational basis. The other houses would be for low and medium needs offenders, with one dedicated to the care-givers who are working in the intensive-care house.
The Sumas CCC is also proposing, an expansion
of the partnership with the SPCA to expand the ARK Program, now a shelter for up
to 50 cats, to include kennels for up to 50 dogs.
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Department of Corrections, New Zealand
How does a Government department measure its performance in terms of the initiatives it is undertaking and in comparison with similar organisations? Benchmarking holds the key.
Dr Roger Waite, manager Strategic Analysis, Department of Corrections, addressed this in his paper "Benchmarking as a Tool for Performance".
"My aim was to show that the Department of Corrections is a leader in its area, and is doing particularly innovative work on re-offending outcomes." says Roger.
"In this area our outcome-linked benchmarking model appears to represent the best Government currently has to offer and can be implemented in the near term to achieve our key goal of reducing re-offending"
The goal of benchmarking is to identify best practice and improve on it over time by having a strategic focus on hi-h-level outcome measures, alone with a small basket of critical efficiency and quality measures, for each major service type and business unit.
"These key measures can then be used to compare your business with similar businesses in New Zealand and abroad. This includes monitoring your performance against other regions and areas within corrections.
"This benchmarking information is then fed back into the management and funding decisions that reinforce and refocus our efforts", Roger says.
The technicalities aside, it is clear that
benchmarking might play a significant role in helping the Department of
Corrections target high risk offenders and put in place the programmes most
likely to reduce their re-offending rates.
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Department of Corrections, New Zealand
Public Prisons Service staff from the Department of Corrections are in East Timor working, with the United Nations to help local people rebuild their country's prison system.
The UN-led Civilian Police had begun arresting some of the violent offenders, many of whom had been part of the militia responsible for the brutal violence that country suffered last year.
The inmates were being, held in temporary facilities that weren't appropriate for long-term containment. The Minister of Corrections, Matt Robson, visited East Timor early in the year and saw the need for help to set up a new prison service. The Department of Corrections agreed to provide support for the United Nations in East Timor.
Phil McCarthy, General Manager Public Prisons Service, Department of Corrections, says, "It's really gratifying to know that our people are so keen to make use of their skills to help the people of another country, especially one so devastated by conflict."
Corrections staff arrived in East Timor to find hardly any basic infrastructure but by using typical Kiwi ingenuity, bloody mindedness and a lot of hard work, they managed to open East Timor's first prison after only three weeks, says Phil.
This determination and commitment has not gone unacknowledged by the United Nations hierarchy. David Harland, the Director of Governance for United Nations Transitional Administration for East Timor complimented Corrections staff.
"I cannot speak highly enough of New Zealand corrections officers in East Timor. They have a great mix of practical skills but are also humane. They're teaching a whole different philosophy of prison management to the Timorese" he said.
Training locals as prison staff is a high priority for the New Zealand corrections staff. Training programmes are in place and the first East Timorese prison officers have graduated.
Support for the families of New Zealand staff has been a priority for the Public Prisons Service.
"Special phone links and networks have been set up by our human resources and IT people to ensure the families get 24 hour support and are kept well informed about how their men are getting on," says Phil.
Department of Corrections, New Zealand
Developing new ways of providing reintegrative
services to assist offenders address practical problems and remain offence-free
in the community is an integral part of Integrated Offender Management (IOM) in
New Zealand.
Specific areas of reintegrative need are:
"The assessment processes of IOM identify an offender's reintegration needs at the beginning of the sentence. The offender management process allows these needs to be addressed throughout the sentence. Targeting ensures that services go to high-risk offenders who also have high reintegrative needs.
"An offender at the beginning of their sentence could be faced with outstanding debts which they need help to manage. During the sentence they might acquire the skills to budget and handle money. At pre-release the offender will need to know how to acquire financial and other Support services once they are released.
"Reintegrative services is about improving basic living skills and actively problem-solving at every stage of the offender's sentence, not just at pre-release," Ann says.
Government and non-government agencies provide services in the key areas of reintegrative need identified for targeted offenders.
The Department of Corrections is developing inter-agency initiatives, starting, with designing pre-release packages which could include information seminars delivered by other agencies.
"Greater collaboration between the Department of Corrections and other agencies can lead to positive outcomes' Ann says.
"Community providers are also a valuable resource in the delivery of services and support leading to the reintegration of offenders and former offenders", says Ann.
Preliminary discussions have been held between community providers and the Department of Corrections on providers' roles in the delivery of reintegrative services. Ongoing consultation is planned to further define specific services which could be purchased from community and external providers; to identify potential initiatives worth further investigation; and to develop a framework for working with providers.
"Our objective is to reduce re-offending.
Integrating reintegrative services throughout sentences and into communities
provides practical support that assists offenders remain offence-free after
their sentence ends," says Ann.
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Department of Corrections, New Zealand
Increasingly young people are receiving custodial sentences in New Zealand. In 1997 for example, a total of 931 persons aged 19 or less were sentenced to terms of imprisonment, the youngest being, only 14 years old. For a significant proportion of these young people, imprisonment is likely to be traumatic. Not only is this likely to be their first experience of custodial sanctions, but their youth, immaturity and still developing repertoire of skills for coping, with adverse social and environmental circumstances render them vulnerable to both mood disturbance and potential and emotional victimization by other offenders.
Recently, the New Zealand Government commissioned a best practice study into the management of young offenders sentenced or remanded to prison. This study resulted in a new youth policy, which was agreed and funded by Government early in 1999.
The previous policy involved staff at all prisons making, every effort to keep young offenders separate from adults as it is widely acknowledged they fall victim to predation, victimization, bullying and stand over tactics.
However, a shortage of facilities and the small numbers of youths in some prisons, makes the physical separation of youth from adults, extremely difficult. Often, young people were kept in segregated facilities where they were basically locked up for the best part of the day, with only short periods in exercise yards. Access to programmes and rehabilitative efforts were stifled in these circumstances.
The new youth policy is aimed at vulnerable offenders rather than the entire youth population. It has been estimated that approximately 40 percent of those sentenced to a term of imprisonment will fit the vulnerability criteria. The remainder of the youth population (that is, those not assessed as vulnerable), continue to be mixed with adults as they are deemed able to cope in that environment. Specialist youth units therefore cater for all under 17 year olds, as they are considered vulnerable due to their very youthfulness. All 17-19 year olds received at a prison are assessed for vulnerability using a specifically designed assessment scale. Those deemed to be vulnerable on this index and transferred to a specialist youth unit.
The Prison Youth Vulnerability Scale (PYVS) was developed by the Department of Corrections Psychological Service specifically for these youth units. It assesses youth in five domains, looking at a reception screen, vulnerability to victimization / abuse and mood, suicide and cultural screens.
Once assigned to a specialist youth unit because of age or vulnerability status, the youth are further assessed in terms of sentence planning. The aim is to ascertain what criminogenic needs can be addressed during the period of incarceration. The vulnerability scale has been designed to encourage its on-going use at various intervals during the young person's sentence and in sentence planning
Each young person also undergoes an education assessment on entry to the unit to define their level of ability in certain areas and their aptitudes.
In order to implement the new policy, Government agreed to the construction of seven specialist youth units around the country. Facilities are being built on existing prison sites but located as far away from existing buildings as possible, in order to avoid any mixing, of the youth with adults.
The units are designed on an Australian model, which has proved to work very well with their juvenile offenders. The design is campus-like, with single story buildings, divided into small pods that house about eight inmates in each one. Although the aim is to create as normalized as environment as possible, security considerations remain paramount. Therefore, the entire facility is behind a perimeter fence and topped with razor ribbon. In the design phase, attention was also given to the provision of playing fields and grassed areas.
The first unit was built last year and became operational in December 1999. It has capacity for 28 young offenders. The second unit became operational in June of this year and it caters for 35 young offenders.
Operationally too, there have been big, leaps made in the managing of these youth. Those transferred to a specialist youth unit to serve all or part of their sentence are provided with a full, purposeful and structured day. The basis of that day is an adolescent-specific cognitive skills programme called EQUIP, education and employment. The EQUIP programme is aimed at youth and recognised their special needs in adolescence. It treats anti-social behaviour problems by addressing, the limitations evident in anti-social youth and characterized by social skill deficiencies, social development delays and social cognitive distortions. Additionally, there are also structured recreation and leisure activities. The main features of the unit are:
Other departures from the standard prison regime also appear to be reaping benefits. For example staff in the unit have been highly trained in working with adolescents, they wear an alternative, more relaxed uniform than other correctional officers and honorifics for both staff and inmates have been dropped. All these factors have created a calm atmosphere conducive to reducing re-offending.
It is too early to say whether or not these units are successful at reducing re-offending in this age group. Initial indications are promising. A positive peer Culture is developing in both units. Staff have worked hard to achieve this and report that to date they have had no problems with contraband or drug, use and there have been no instances of self-harm. A couple of minor fights have occurred but there has been no major disruptive behaviour.
This initiative is intended to not only keep
young offenders safe whilst serving a term of imprisonment but also to reduce
re-offending. However, evidence Of Such will have to come from a full efficacy
study over the coming years.
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Office of the Correctional Services Commissioner, Department of Justice, Victoria
The 2000-2001 Victorian Budget provides substantial funding for a range of innovative programs designed to help prisoners break the cycle of reoffending, while managing the demand pressure on the Victorian prison system.
The Budget initiatives will enable the prison system to meet hi-h levels of demand more efficiently, by more closely matching accommodation capacity to the profile of the prison population. They also address the shortcomings in the Prison System as identified by the Victorian Auditor General in May 1999. The Auditor General emphasized that prison planning had been inadequate leading to critical shortages of accommodation, particularly for women prisoners, protection prisoners, and male medium security prisoners.
While noting these findings, it will be a key consideration of the Government that imprisonment is a sentence of last resort. Expansion of the prison system should be contained to the minimum level necessary.
In the short term, the Government is managing current demand pressures on the prison system by funding the provision of 357 extra beds in the prison system. The purchase of this extra permanent capacity will mostly be through public prisons. At the same time, the Government is introducing a range of new programs that will better prepare prisoners for release to the general community and provide closer supervision and support after their release.
As part of its overall long term planning process for Corrections, the Government is committed to:
All relevant Government Departments, including the Departments of Justice and Human Services, are working, to-ether to develop a coordinated platform of diversion and rehabilitation options as part of a whole-of government coordination strategy to reduce offending.
Immediate expansion of Victoria's prison capacity is essential to allow the system to cope with existing demand. Since June 1996, the prison population has grown by almost 30%. On 30 June 1996, Victoria's prisons accommodated 2, 440 men and women. On 2 June this year, the prison population was 3,158, an increase of -more than 700 prisoners.
In this context, the Government is proceeding with provision of extra capacity as a matter of urgency.
At the same time, nearly half the extra capacity represents an innovative approach to prisoner management, especially in providing specialist support to prisoners immediately before and after their release to the community.
A package of reforms and improvements to the women's prison system will include:
For the men's prison system new programs and investment initiatives include:
In total, the extra capacity represents a capital investment of $33.8 million over 3 years for 287 men's beds and 70 women's beds.
The Office of the Correctional Services Commissioner (OCSC) has established a Building Design Project encompassing cell design, prisoner safety issues and fire safety which will develop building design guidelines, with which all prison expansion must comply.
The Budget points to development of a comprehensive long term plan for further improvement of the Victorian prison system. The Government will shortly commission the development of a Victorian Prison System Master Plan to guide the capital development and consolidation of the prison system over the next ten years. The Master Plan will be developed in the context of meeting, changes in prisoner profiles, and addressing new approaches to prisoners including better rehabilitation and reintegration programs.
The immediate expansion program has been
devised to ensure that current demand is met without pre-empting the final form
and scale of future prison planning in the 10 year Victorian Prison System
Master Plan, which will be developed during the remainder of 2000.
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Office of Correctional Services Commissioner, Department of Justice, Victoria
The 2000-2001 Victorian Budget provides funding for a range of innovative programs designed to help prisoners break the cycle of reoffending, while managing the demand pressure on the Victorian prison system by funding the provision of 357 extra beds.
The Government is committed to implementing initiatives which will reduce the likelihood of reoffending. In particular, the rapid increase in the number of younger prisoners with substantial substance abuse problems has created a demand for programs that are better able to address the underlying offending behaviour of these prisoners.
On 2 May, as part of the 2000-2001 State Budget, the Minister for Corrections announced a major Prison Capacity Expansion Program to tackle the chronic overcrowding in Victoria's prison system. A significant proportion of the Expansion Program will be targeted at ensuring that prisoners are given adequate opportunities to develop the various skills required to prepare for their post-release responsibilities and transition back into the community, and are provided with closer supervision and support after their release.
As part of this Expansion Program, an important new program is to be developed for younger male prisoners with drug problems, providing throughcare and pre- and post-release support.
An intensive program is to be developed, targeted at male prisoners aged under 30 years with substantial substance abuse problems.
To be known as the "New Horizons" Program, this holistic program will tar-et the range of complex needs of a growing number of younger prisoners. It is proposed that the program will comprise:
The New Horizons Program is likely to include:
In designing the program, the Office of the Correctional Services Commissioner reviewed the range of similar programs trialed in Australia and overseas. Military style "boot camps" have not been shown to be successful in reducing reoffending. The program will instead be modeled on a similar holistic program, operating in New South Wales since the early 1990's, which has a greater focus on counselling and personal development and which has been successful in breaking, the cycle of offending and reintegrating prisoners back into the community.
Selection
The program will be targeted at prisoners who are:
Prisoners assessed as suitable for the program may be required to complete pre-entry tasks to demonstrate commitment and suitability, for example drug education.
Phase I - Training
It is proposed that Phase I of the program will be based in a new 68 bed minimum
security unit constructed adjacent to the Fulham Correctional Centre. Fulham
Correctional Centre has been chosen as the site for this initiative as it has a
high proportion of prisoners who are drug addicts or have a history of drug,
addiction and already provides an extensive residential drug treatment program.
It is anticipated that the first phase of the program will occur over a 16 week period. Prisoners will commence Phase I in groups of up to 16, and will be accommodated together. The program will be structured, and will include:
Prisoners who complete Phase I will move on to a new community based Transitional Unit for men, where an intensive release preparation program will be provided.
Phase 2: Transition
Supported transition for participants back to the community will be provided
though a new community based Transitional Unit in Melbourne.
This Transitional Unit will provide support for
prisoners before they are released from the prison system by establishing
linkages to the wider community and providing prisoners with opportunities to
further develop skills they will need to settle back into the community.
Although gazetted as a prison, the Transitional Unit will focus on establishing
individual routines which mirror community living to facilitate a smooth
transition from pre- to post-release. Phase 3: Post-Release Support
Prisoners will be case managed for up to six months after release through a
support and mentoring program.
Consultation with all stakeholders, particularly the community, is an essential part of the development of this new program.
Who will operate these new facilities?
Subject to negotiations and community consultations, the 68-bed unit will be
operated by Australasian Correctional Management (ACM), the operator of Fulham
Correctional Centre. The transitional facility will be operated by CORE -the
Public Correctional Enterprise. Options to involve a community-based
Organisation in program delivery, in conjunction with ACM and CORE, are being
considered.
Why is the Government building a new private
prison?
The program is not a new prison but an extension of capacity at Fulham
Correctional Centre, which will increase the prison's capacity from 590 to 658
beds.
Is this a new prison for young offenders
This is a new program which will target offenders already in the prison system.
it will in no way impact upon. or be a substitute for, the continuing operation
of Senior Youth Training Centres as an important, separate custodial alternative
for young offenders.
Will the prisoners pose a security risk?
Community safety is of paramount concern. Prisoners wishing to participate in
the Pro-ram will be carefully selected. and will be supervised throughout the
program to ensure that they do not present a risk.
The program will include mechanisms to ensure the safety and security of all participants (both staff and prisoners) at all times. Program design will ensure that outdoor education and adventure-based activities represent best practice in program design and implementation, including consultation with experts in this field.
Now that funding for this new program has been allocated, a firm proposal for the program will be developed in consultation with the community and providers. Detailed correctional management and program specifications will be developed, and will form the basis for negotiation with each of the prison operators.
The correctional management requirements will also be used as the basis for site selection (for the transitional units) and design and construction specifications, to ensure that the location and design of the new units supports program delivery.
In any new program such as this, it is
important that sufficient time be given to consultation and program development
before building, commences. Although firm timelines have not, as yet been
established, it is unlikely that the program implementation plan and buildings
Would be ready before the end of 2001.
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Hong Kong Correctional Services
The Correctional Services Department of Hong Kong has published its first
Environmental Report in its long history of 150 years, outlining numerous
examples of green initiatives both from its staff and from the management.
Commissioner of Correctional Services Ng Ching-kwok said the Department had all along incorporated environmentally-responsible measures in prison management and rehabilitation activities and green issues were included in induction programmes for newly admitted inmates/prisoners.
"We believe that environmental consciousness is an important element for the rehabilitation of the inmates, whether in their daily life or whilst working for the Correctional Services Industries," Mr Ng said.
To better co-ordinate the environmental efforts within the Department, a Green Manager's Committee comprising representatives from staff of different levels was set up in May 1999 to identify, study and experiment green initiatives in the Department and to consider staff suggestions on green management.
The Committee also formulates green policies within the Department and oversees their implementation.
On energy conservation, 1999 saw the commissioning of Pak Sha Wan Correctional
Institution, which was designed to achieve maximum daylight and ventilation for
various accommodations and at the same time meet the strict security
requirements of a prison.
Also, the reduction of energy use for lighting and other electrical appliances and use of solar energy for water heating in some penal institutions have resulted in energy savings up to as high as 20 to 35 per cent.
Thanks to efforts of staff members, paper consumption for the Department has also been on an annual reducing trend of about 8 per cent since 1998. While measures have been adopted to reuse and recycle solid waste, a project was launched in October 1999 to study the feasibility of composting food waste and generating fertiliser for gardening and horticulture.
As most of its penal institutions are located in rural areas and outlying islands, the Department has strived to protect the healthy natural environment which is the habitat for many birds of wild life in Hong Kong by minimizing pollution and preserving and planting trees and scrubs.
For more details of the Report, please visit
the Department's website, at:
http://www.correctionalservices.gov.hk.
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Hong Kong Correctional Services
The Department has joined the cyber space age via direct internet
-telecommunications link with the Singapore Prisons Department in the official
launch of the Prison Services Discussion Forum in Singapore.
Via video conferencing, the Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr. Benny Ng Chinc,-kwok and the Directorate of the Department joined the second day of the Singapore Prisons Department's Workplan Seminar 2000 on May 25.
"The Forum not only breaks historical new
ground in strengthening the ties between our two departments, it also signifies
our common desire to strive for continuous improvement in the delivery of our
services to better meet the rising expectations of the people and communities we
serve," said Mr. NG
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Hong Kong Correctional Services
A total of eight representatives from the Prison Management Bureau of Shandong
Province made a four-day visit to the Department on 17 April 2000. The delegates
toured Stanley Prison, Sha Tsui Detention Centre, penal institutions at Hei Ling
Chau, Pik Uk Prison as well as Pik Uk Correctional Institution. Moreover, they
were invited to attend the Education Certificate Presentation Ceremony at Shek
Pik Prison. According to the delegates, they were much impressed by the modern
management and operation of those correctional institutions.
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Hong Kong Correctional Services
In view of the steady rise in the rate of sexual crime in Hong Kong and in particularly in crimes involving children as victims, the Correctional Services Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Re-ion, China has set Lip a specialized programme to provide psychological intervention for the sex offenders since the end of 1998. The "Sex Offender Evaluation and Treatment Unit"(ETU) aims to provide comprehensive psychological evaluation and treatment for sex offenders in a therapeutic unit of 20 beds and is staffed by clinical psychologists and professional officers. The programme is designed to reduce re-offending amongst sex offenders through improving their distorted sex attitude and knowledge, decreasing their deviant sexual interest, enhancing their emotion regulation and relationship skills, strengthening their victim empathy as well as developing -better understanding towards their offending cycle. 'Similar to other established treatment programme for sex offender, the programme in ETU adopts a cognitive-behavioral treatment approach and is mostly delivered in groups with individual intervention when required. A unique feature of the programme is the extensive use of audio-visual self-help material as an adjunct in delivering treatment in particularly for the moderate risk sex offenders.
Following one year of operation, a review was
conducted on the effectiveness of the programme and the preliminary result is
encouraging. While denial amongst sex offenders towards their offence and their
reluctance in seeking, treatment had been a major hurdle in our service
provision for them in the past, the programme now has successfully decreased the
percentage of deniers' from 90% in the past to 20%. A four time increase in the
number of sex offenders participating in the programme was witnessed. Apart from
the improvement in the quality of services, there was also a 34% saving of the
psychologist's time as result of the stream lined procedure adopted in the unit.
As the improved procedures in services provision had resulted in manpower saving
and enhanced efficiencies, the unit was nominated to enter the "Productivity
Achievement Award" organized by the Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region this year.
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UNAFEI
The 115th International Training Course was held at UNAFEI from May 15 to July
7, 2000. Twenty-three participants, including thirteen from the Asia-Pacific,
Latin America and Africa regions, took part in this Course and discussed topics
related to the main theme of "Current Issues in Correctional Treatment and
Effective Countermeasures." The participants particularly focused on
overcrowding, prison conditions and the treatment of drug-related, female and
foreign prisoners, and their transfer.
Five visiting experts were also invited to this
Course from the Council of Europe, Thailand, Canada, Sweden and Australia.
Through the experience gained in the Course, the participants are expected to
contribute to the further promotion of correctional administration in their
respective countries.
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Prison Administration Bureau
and
Department of Judicial Assistance and Foreign Affairs, Ministry of justice, PRC
and
Correctional Services Department, Hong Kong SAR, PRC
Contact: Mathias Chan
Correctional Services Department,
Hong Kong SAR, PRC
Address: 27th Floor, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Telephone : (852) 2582 5205
Fax : (852) 2186 8513
E-mail:
cores@correctionalservices.gov.hk
Contributions:
David Biles
New South Wales Department of Corrective Services, Australia
Office of the Correctional Services Commissioner, Department of Justice,
Victoria, Australia
Correctional Services, Canada
Correctional Services Department, Hong Kong SAR
Department of Social Rehabilitation, Macau SAR
Department of Corrections, New Zealand
Prisons Department, Singapore
UNAFEI
Production:
Mathias CHAN
Stanley WONG
Joyce HO
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