 A conference session with conference host Dr Leo Keliher in the chair |
 Enjoying the Southern Highlands garden setting were (from left) Haji Dollah (Brunei), Ahn-Shik Kim (Korea), Karen Fitzgerald (Conference Liaison Officer), Amanda McDonald (Conference Organiser) and Hua Poh (Brunei) |
 Lunch was greatly enjoyed during the outing to the Southern Highlands |
 Dr Keliher with Mongolian delegate Colonel Rolomsuren Oyunbadam |
The host of the 21st APCCA in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Mr Siwa Sangmanee, has decided that the conference will be held from 21 to 26 October 2001.One of the factors that influenced the selection of these dates was the timing of the conference of the International Corrections and Prisons Association conference (ICPA) which is scheduled for 28 October to 2 November 2001 in Perth, Western Australia. This will make it possible for some delegates to the 21st APCCA to travel from Chiang Mai to Perth on 27 October, and will be considerably less expensive than making two separate international trips.
A draft of the Discussion Guide for the 21st APCCA has been prepared by the APCCA Coordinator, Professor David Biles, and has been forwarded to Thailand for approval by the Thai hosts. Once approved it will be published on the APCCA web site. The Discussion Guide will also be included in the official invitations that will be sent from Thailand.The Discussion Guide contains suggestions that may assist in the preparation of national papers for the conference. The four major agenda items for the 21st APCCA are:1. National Report on Contemporary Issues in Corrections2. Foreign Prisoners and International Transfers3. Drug Offenders - Psychological and Other Treatment, and4. The Management of Special Groups of Offenders.It is possible that the conference program will also make time available for two workshops, or small discussion groups, dealing with indigenous offenders and correctional through-care, but these topics are not considered in the Discussion Guide.
For the first time since the 18th APCCA in Kuala Lumpur in 1997, the conference hosts of the 21st APCCA in Chiang Mai have decided to invite the private providers of correctional services to attend as observers. They will also be invited to make presentations about their work.The new Minister of the Interior of Thailand, Prof Dr Purachai Piamsomboon, has expressed the view that the establishment of one or more private prisons in Thailand may help to solve some of the problems that face the correctional system in that country.
March 2001 saw a record number of hits on the APCCA website with 2023 hits being registered. The web address is www.apcca.org
The illustrated report of the 20th Conference has been prepared and distributed. Delegates to the Conference should already have received their copies. The entire contents of the report will be available on the APCCA website.
Professor David Biles
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Queensland Department of Corrective Services
The Queensland Department of Corrective Services has recently launched a plan for improving the management of female prisoners and offenders. "In Their Own Right: a five year framework for meeting the needs of female offenders", was prepared by the department's Women's Policy Unit following extensive research and consultation.
Helen Ringrose, A/Director-General of the Department of Corrective Services, said that this framework "represents a fundamental shift for the department." For the first time, "women offenders are being considered in their own right. Their needs have not always been adequately provided for in a correctional system which tends to be dominated by a larger male offender population".
She added: "Improved responsiveness to the needs of female offenders makes sense. We hope to see rehabilitation enhanced, re-offending reduced and community safety improved."
Barbara Shaw, Manager of the Women's Policy Unit, said female offenders have high physical and mental health needs, with previous experiences of domestic violence and sexual abuse being common. Many offenders are mothers, and family contact is important to ensure that children are not punished for their mother's offending.
A high proportion of female offenders are convicted of drug-related offences, and women are less likely than men to be convicted of violent offences. The plan is a response to data collected by the department as well as consultations with women prisoners and offenders, staff and community organisations.
The plan commits the Department to developing options for the diversion from secure custody of indigenous women, who are over-represented in corrections. Other initiatives include:
Copies of "In Their Own Right" can be obtained by phoning the Women's Policy
Unit on (61-7) 3227 6741.
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Royal Cambodian Government Prisons Department
A delegation comprising the Director General, General Administration Ministry of Interior, the Acting Head of the Prisons Department, the Deputy Director of Correctional Centre No. 2 and a Prison Adviser with the Cambodian Criminal Justice Assistance Project attended the 20th Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators in Sydney. A Cambodian delegation also participated in 19th APCCA in Shanghai. AusAid funded the Cambodian delegation's participation in both these conferences.
The prisons in Cambodia have, over the last two years, experienced very dramatic change and will to continue to experience even greater change over the coming years. Last year the Royal Cambodian Government initiated the process of transferring the Prisons Department from the National Police Department. This year the Prisons Department will be under the direction of the Director General, General Administration Ministry of Interior.
Last year, one of the largest male prisons in Cambodia was converted to a facility exclusively for women and juvenile prisoners. The opening of new "purpose built" prison with the capacity to accommodate 1,200 adult male convicted and remand prisoners adjacent to this facility made this possible. Another prison, capable of accommodating up to 700 prisoners, was also build last year, in Siem Riep, in the north of Cambodia.
The Director of the newly established women and juvenile prison was part of the delegation participating in the 20th APCCA and had the opportunity of touring women's correctional facilities in NSW. He advised that this has provided him with many ideas for meeting the special needs of the women and juvenile prison population.
The year 2001 will see significant increases in the number of staff in all prisons, with the Prime Minister issuing a Sub-Decree directing the transfer of sufficient National Police to the Prisons to provide the Prisons Department with a total 1,700 staff. The Prime Minister's Sub-Decree also increases the number of female officers working in the prisons. Many of the prisons have been short-staffed over the last two years, and the increase in staff will allow appropriate staff rostering and the implementation of prisoner programs in the prisons.
The Cambodian delegates all found the experience of participating in the APCCA to be invaluable, both in seeing the correctional facilities in China and Australia firsthand and sharing experiences and expertise with correctional administrators throughout the region. These experiences will assist Prisons Department personnel with the challenges involved in the process of reforming the management of prisons in Cambodia over the coming years.
The Cambodian delegation wish to offer their profuse thanks for the opportunity of participating in such a invaluable conference and touring New South Wales Correctional facilities.
His Excellence Mr Prach Chan
Director General, General Administration
Ministry of Interior
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Hong Kong Correctional Services
Members will recall that at the Sydney meeting, the APCCA resolved to form a working group to review the work of the APCCA Coordinator and to make appropriate recommendations for steps to be taken in order to ensure that the support services for the Conference can be sustained and enhanced.
In response to a letter to all APCCA members issued in early January 2001 by the working group Chair Mr Benny NG, the Commissioner of the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department, ten countries/territories have indicated their interest, subject to confirmation, to join the working group. They are: Canada, China, Fiji, Japan, Mongolia, New South Wales, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Tonga.
The terms of reference of the working group are:
The working group's schedule is:
UNAFEI
UNAFEI will hold its 118th International Training Course on Best Practice in the Institutional and Community-based Treatment of Juvenile Offenders this coming May. This two-month course will invite approximately fifteen participants, mainly from Asian and Pacific Countries, who are engaged in the treatment of juvenile offenders. The participants are expected to present country reports, attend visiting experts lectures, visit Japanese criminal justice agencies, and participate in group discussions.
Topics to be discussed include development of a model treatment program; case management; strategic utilization of limited financial resources; staff training; and the management of public relations. The outcome of the discussions will be summarized into the reports of the course and published accordingly.
Shinya Watanabe
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Singapore Prison Service
Knowing our inmates better will give us an edge in managing and helping them. As we work with a large number of inmates, particularly upon admission, we need a systematic and standardised method of assessing them.
Hong Kong Correctional Services
The Solicitor General of Canada, the Hon Lawrence MacAulay
(second from left) and the Secretary for Security of the HKSAR, Mrs Regina Ip
(second from right) excahnge documents after signing a Memorandum of
Understanding. Standing next to them are Commissioner of Correctional Services
of the HKSAR, My Benny NG Ching-kwok (right).
The visit to Hong Kong by the delegation of the Correctional Service of Canada has achieved its objective of mutual benefit through multi-level experience sharing. This is the consensus of the Solicitor General of Canada, the Hon Lawrence MacAulay; the Commissioner of Correctional Service of Canada, Ms Lucie McClung; and the Commissioner of Correctional Services of Hong Kong (CSD), Mr Benny Ng Ching-kwok.
Mr MacAulay and Ms McClung led an eight-member delegation, including Canadian front-line correctional officers, to visit Hong Kong from March 3 to 8 at the invitation of Mr Ng.
During their stay in Hong Kong, the delegation visited a number of correctional institutions including the Pak Sha Wan Correctional Institution, the Tai Tam Gap Correctional Institution and the Shek Pik Prison to share operational experience with their Hong Kong counterparts.
They also took part in workshops focussing on "Values and Principles of Being Professionals in Corrections" and "Corrections and the Community" attended by heads and middle managers of local correctional institutions. The group also shared experiences with CSD culture change agents on "Culture Change in Corrections" and CSD Work Improvement Team co-ordinators on "Involvement of Front-line Staff in Management".
Describing the visit as successful, Mr MacAulay said before he departed that he "looks forward to continued collaboration with Hong Kong as both correctional organisations strive for excellence in corrections. Workshops and meetings allowed both parties to discuss areas of improvement in correctional practice. In so doing, both will improve their ability to contribute to a safe, just and peaceful society."
"The professional exchange with the Correctional Service of Canada is a vital step forward in achieving CSD's vision to deliver quality custodial and rehabilitative services recognised internationally for excellence," Mr Ng said. "As one of the forerunners in the provision of modern correctional services, the Canadian visitors have brought with them their invaluable experience in the development of professionalism in correctional work. In addition," he added, "as we are going through major culture changes in the Department, the Canadian delegates' visit has also given us the opportunity to draw on their experience in this regard."
Ms McClung was impressed with the education, employment and counselling programs aimed at preparing offenders for their safe return to their communities. "The delivery of professional correctional services is all about contributing to the protection of society," she said.
She commended the work done by CSD to reach out to Hong Kong citizens to strengthen the necessary links between incarceration and community re-integration.
To further strengthen the ties and professional exchanges between the two jurisdictions, the two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will further enhance mutual co-operation and the development of correctional programs.
During their stay in Hong Kong, the Canadian Solicitor General and members of
his delegation also called on the Secretary for Security, Mrs Regina Ip Lau
Shuk-yee; the Secretary for Justice, Ms Elsie Leung Oi-see; and the President of
the Legislative Council, the Honourable Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai.
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Hong Kong Correctional Services
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, inspects the contingents on parade at the Correctional
Services Department Annual Inspection.
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, praised the encouraging progress made by the Correctional Services Department (CSD) of Hong Kong since he last attended the Department's Annual Inspection and Parade two years ago.
Speaking at this year's CSD Annual Inspection and Parade on January 10, Mr Tung said that the Department revised in 1999 its vision, mission and values statement, sparing no effort in delivering quality custodial and rehabilitative services recognised internationally for excellence.
He cited the ISO 9002 certifications for the sign-making industry of the Correctional Services Industries and the Complaints Investigation Unit in 2000 as examples of the Department's achievements in quality assurance.
The Chief Executive also noted that new human resource management initiatives were taking shape. These included the corporate culture change project and the competency-based performance appraisal and management system.
"All these efforts testify to the determination and perseverance of all the staff of the Department in search for excellence in providing quality custodial and rehabilitative services," Mr Tung said.
On the rehabilitation front, the Chief Executive said the Committee on Community Support for Rehabilitated Offenders was established in November 1999 and had since helped to organise a series of publicity programs to enlist public support for rehabilitated offenders.
Mr Tung trusted that through the close co-operation of CSD, the Committee and other voluntary organisations together with public support, rehabilitated offenders would definitely have a better chance to start a new life.
Congratulating all those on parade for their excellent turnout and impeccable
performance, Mr Tung said he was confident "that CSD members would rise to the
challenges ahead in maintaining Hong Kong a secure and safe city."
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ACT Corrective Services The notion that the ACT should have its own correctional facilities is not new: discussion about the subject first occurred in 1955, when the Department of the Interior proposed the building of a goal in the ACT, to house both ACT and NT prisoners.
Two major reviews on the subject have reached similar conclusions: the Vinson Report conducted in 1984 recommended the creation of a prison system in the ACT which would cater for all prisoners except maximum security prisoners. In 1988 the Australian Law Reform Commission concluded in its report into sentencing that a prison system should be established in the ACT to cater for all security levels, for periodic detention and for special categories of prisoners such as the mentally ill or intellectually disabled.
Recent consideration of the establishment of a prison in the ACT dates from the publication of the report by the ACT Corrections Review Committee "Paying the Price" in 1991, which recognised the considerable social and financial cost involved in the current practice of sending ACT prisoners to NSW prisons. It strongly recommended the establishment of a correctional facility in the ACT.
In December 1996, ACT Corrective Services released a discussion paper that further considered the possible establishment of a correctional facility. In its conclusions it recognised the urgent need to replace the Belconnen Remand Centre, due to its poor design, high operational costs and limited capacity. It recommended that consideration should be given to incorporating any new remand centre into a correctional facility for low to medium security prisoners.
The issue of establishing a prison in the ACT was subsequently considered by the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs, chaired by Mr Paul Osborne MLA in 1997. Influenced particularly by the importance of maintaining strong familial ties during incarceration for the successful rehabilitation of prisoners and the economic benefits the Committee concluded that the ACT should build its own correctional facility. This would house both remanded and sentenced prisoners, both female and male, of as many security classifications as possible.
The Government's preferred position has been that the design, construction and operation of the ACT prison be contracted out to the private sector.
Following these conclusions, the ACT Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety commenced its inquiry into the establishment of an ACT prison in August 1998. Over 50 submissions were received.
The Standing Committee released its first interim report (report number 3) on the ACT prison in July 1999, "Inquiry into the establishment of an ACT prison: justification and siting". The main conclusions of that report were that:
The Government in its re