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Following is the translation of a speech by the Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Pang Sung-yuen delivered at the farewell parade held at the Correctional Services Department・s Staff Training Institution today (July 21).
Mr Lee, parents and guardians, passing-out members, ladies and gentlemen,
I have much pleasure in meeting you today at the passing-out ceremony for new recruits and the farewell parade held for my retirement. I extend my heartfelt thanks to you for taking your precious time to be here.
Standing on the saluting dais, I am elated and inspired by our high-spirited passing-out members who line up neatly after going through very demanding training in professionalism, physical exercise and team spirit. Seeing this, I can・t help but recollect my being here 35 years ago having high hopes for my career, just like all of you now.
Recently, globalisation has brought new opportunities and challenges to criminal justice systems internationally and as a result professional exchanges have been arranged between local and overseas organisations on criminal justice reforms, restorative justice, community justice, community corrections, prisoners・ corrections and reduction in recidivism. Therefore, our department has to make changes in our correctional mindset, direction and plans of prison development, work targets and strategies, as well as staff training in response to the needs of time and of the Hong Kong community.
The Correctional Services Department is a professional and disciplined service. As Commissioner, I am committed to improving our custodial services in accordance with the law and on sensible grounds. Regarding rehabilitative services, although we have moved ahead a long way, there is still room for improvement. Therefore, how to set long-term targets and strategies for the services remains a very important challenge for all of us.
In formulating long-term targets for custodial and rehabilitative services, I encourage my staff to improve and maintain prison discipline and prison order in harmony. Harmony brings stability and respect whereas discord brings conflicts and confronts. Through humanitarian management, prisoners are more apt to fit themselves for the life in prison and our staff in return will find it easier to perform supervising duties. Eventually, we will benefit from a stable environment in prison for the development of rehabilitative services.
Over the past three-and-a-half years, prisons operation has been smooth with no major incidents happening. The number of cases in respect of seized dangerous drugs, suicides and escapes has been on the decline. Even more impressive is the record of no prisoner escaping in 2004 and 2005.
It is our new thinking to optimise rehabilitative services with community resources and recruited talents, which is also one of the factors in the successful implementation of the Hong Kong rehabilitative services. After three years・ efforts, we have increased the number of our partner organisations in the community from 28 in 2002 to 63 today. We have also set up the Correctional Services Staff Volunteer Group to recruit talents from society to organise educational courses for inmates. At present the numbers of volunteers, educational classes and beneficiaries are all increasing.
Helping rehabilitated offenders to find employment is essential in our rehabilitative work. Since 2004, some enthusiastic organisations and persons have promoted the ：One Company One Rehabilitated Offender； campaign in Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin and Sha Tin, calling employers to give fair employment opportunities to rehabilitated offenders.
On July 14, the first vocational training centre in the department was set up to provide market oriented vocational training for adult prisoners aged between 21 and 35. Participants will receive intensive full-time training before they are released. The vocational training centre not only marks the new thinking of our department, but also the support of social organisations as shown by their generous contribution towards our rehabilitative services in the direction of vocational training.
The Correctional Services Department must not isolate itself, and should rather stay on the front of development and in line with other correctional systems so as to advance our own and improve our services. We would be marginalised if we stay on the same spot for so long.
Ever since 1997, there has been increasing communication between correctional institutions of the Mainland and Hong Kong. In order to have better association with regional correctional systems, we reached an agreement with the Guangdong Prison Administration Bureau in 2003 to organise the Guangdong-Hong Kong Prison Forum. The forum aims at raising the level of correctional services through in-depth exchanges of professional knowledge and experience between the two jurisdictions. In July this year, representatives from the Beijing Prison Administration Bureau also participated in the forum, which was in addition to those from the original Guangdong, Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau authorities. After discussions, the Guangdong and Hong Kong authorities agreed to accept Beijing and Macau as members of the Guangdong-Hong Kong Prison Forum.
Our department also signed an agreement with the Central Justice Police Officers Institute in 2003 for mutual co-operation. This year, our department sent a delegation to the Central Justice Police Officers Institute and gave a talk to some 200 prison directorate officers. Both parties have agreed to include the talk as a part of regular staff training and it is anticipated that the arrangement will help upgrade the professional quality of staff members.
Between 2003 and 2005, our department signed Memoranda of Understanding with the correctional departments of Singapore and the Republic of Korea. We also signed an agreement with the Macau Prison for mutual cooperation. These agreements not only help facilitate better relationship among various parties, but also enable them to share their professional knowledge and invaluable experience. As a result, better staff and service qualities will be achieved.
Over the past years, our prisons have suffered from serious overcrowding. The situation is even more appalling in female institutions. In June, 2004, our department clocked the record high female penal population of 3 092. At that time, all female institutions faced the overpopulation problem and the Tai Lam Centre for Women was the worst hit with a 257% accommodation rate.
Though the penal population is still on the high side, the comprehensive prison development programme has been shelved. Our department has therefore studied the redevelopment of existing correctional facilities and the in-situ reprovision of institutions. The in-situ redevelopment of the Lai Chi Kok Correctional Institution is a typical example. We will adopt this new approach in the redevelopment of existing correctional facilities in future.
The Lai Chi Kok Correctional Institution opened officially yesterday, provides 650 additional places for female inmates. It will greatly ease the overcrowding problem in female institutions, which has plagued the department for so many years. We will continue to develop female correctional facilities.
In early July, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council gave funding approval to the in-situ development of the Lo Wu Correctional Institution into three new penal institutions for the provision of around 1 200 additional penal places. It is expected that it will alleviate the problem of penal overpopulation to a large extent when it starts admitting inmates in 2010.
Over the past 20 years or so, one out of every two Commissioners of Correctional Services was deployed from other departments. In view of this, we have groomed new blood to solve the succession problem in recent years. I have much confidence in telling you the appointment of Mr Kwok to be the new Commissioner indicates that the problem has been successfully addressed.
Today, I would like to welcome all new recruits to join the big family of the Correctional Services Department upon your completion of the training course. I urge you to try your very best to perform your duties with dual emphasis on punishment and correction.
For many years, the Security Bureau has given us staunch support in all our work, including the establishment of the vocational training centre and the redevelopment of the Lai Chi Kok Correctional Institution. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Secretary for Security and all his colleagues.
Recently, the custodial and rehabilitative services of our department have improved a lot. This would not have been possible without the invaluable contribution of our fellow colleagues. Giving you my hearty thanks, I would like to tell you that your equally valuable contribution to society have received general recognition from the public and you are no longer the nameless heroes. I sincerely hope that you will continue to provide quality correctional services in your future endeavours.
Rehabilitative work, being the collective responsibility of the whole community, requires the joint participation of various sectors and social organisations. Your efforts will not only enhance the quality of the service but also help us reduce the recidivism rate to a record low. I would like to pay tribute to all local leaders and teammates for their ardent support to our department and to me over the years. I sincerely hope that you will continue to show your unfailing support to the department and the new Commissioner. Regardless of my imminent retirement, I can assure you that I will continue to participate in the rehabilitative services. Finally, I would like to invite all of you to pitch in to carry out the rehabilitative work and build Hong Kong into a more prosperous and stable community. Thank you.
Ends/Friday, July 21, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:25
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