23^RD APCCA

The 23rd Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators was held at the Gordon Wu Hall of BP International House in Hong Kong SAR from 7 to 12 December 2003.  It was, in a sense, a return to the home of APCCA conferences, Hong Kong having been the first ever host in 1980.  The Conference was attended by representatives of 22 jurisdictions, a record number.

The Conference comprised four main Agenda Items and two Specialist Workshops.  The Agenda Items covered contemporary issues in corrections; prisoners’ complaints and grievances; prison officer culture; and major prison disturbances.  The Specialist Workshops considered the development of partnerships for prison industries and training and succession planning for senior managers.  Many of these topics involved issues of considerable sensitivity but delegates were frank and open, and there was a higher level of discussion during the proceedings than at previous conferences.

The Conference was hosted by Mr Kelvin Pang, Commissioner of the Correctional Services Department of Kong Kong SAR.  Delegates will long remember the immense professionalism, generous hospitality and good humour of Mr Pang and his colleagues (including Deputy Commissioner Mr Kwok Leung Ming, Assistant Commissioner Mr Samson Chan and Mr Mathias Chan). They ensured that the conference proceedings not only ran efficiently but that they were also relaxed and informative.  Guests of Honour at the Conference included Ms Elsie Leung, Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong SAR and Mr Ambrose Lam, Secretary for Security.

The formal proceedings were complemented by visits to four institutions representing a range of modern correctional services (Pak Sha Wan Correctional Institution, Shek Pik Prison, Sha Tsui Detention Centre and Lai Chi Rehabilitation Centre).  Delegates were also impressed with the Correctional Services Department facilities at Stanley, including the new Corrections Museum, which contains a section recording the 1980, 1993 and 2003 APCCA conferences in Hong Kong. 

The conference saw several changes from previous years but retained all the core traditions and values that have been developed over 23 years.  The major change was that, as announced in the previous issue of this Newsletter, Professor David Biles decided to step down as Rapporteur. The Conference thanked Professor Biles for his contributions and wished him success in the future. It elected Dr Neil Morgan (formerly Co-Rapporteur) and Ms Irene Morgan to be Rapporteur and Co-Rapporteur respectively; initially for this Conference and then for the next three years. The transition proved to be very smooth and the Rapporteur and Co-Rapporteur undertook a greater role in facilitating discussion and providing thematic summaries during conference sessions and workshops.

Another successful innovation was the inclusion of invited scholars in the conference proceedings. Professor Roger Hood (Oxford and Hong Kong Universities) provided expert international commentary on prisoner grievance proceedings and Dr Rod Broadhurst (Hong Kong) co-facilitated the workshop on succession planning. 

As China, Fiji, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore said in formal votes of thanks to Mr Pang and the Hong Kong organizers, the 23^rd APCCA will be fondly remembered for the strong conference organization, the quality of presentations and debates, the splendid hospitality and the valuable institutional visits.  Equally important, the 2003 Conference reaffirmed the role of APCCA and laid a strong basis for its future operations.  This was confirmed by the fact that offers to host APCCA are now in place right up to 2009.  Following Singapore in 2004, the hosts will be Korea (2005); New Zealand (2006); Vietnam (2007); Philippines (2008) and Western Australia (2009).