The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited Lo Wu Correctional Institution (LWCI) this afternoon (April 24). He received an update on the operation of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) and its strategic plan for the Department's future development including building a sustainable correctional system with an integrated operational protocol through development of a smart prison system.
 
     Mr Cheung was first briefed by the Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Woo Ying-ming, on the Department's work priorities and the plan to introduce a smart prison system to enhance efficiency of custodial operations and security of correctional institutions through application of innovation and technology, with an aim of ensuring the safety of correctional officers in the course of law enforcement and at the same time protecting the safety of persons in custody.
 
     The smart prison system comprises four elements, namely "development of smart governance", "implementation of process innovation", "cultivating knowledge-based correctional officers and enhancing the capacities of rehabilitated persons to reintegrate into the society", and "application of smart prison designs to operate correctional institutions". CSD plans to apply these smart elements to its key facility improvement and redevelopment proposals in the future.
 
     Trial projects undertaken at LWCI include installation of the Health Signs Monitoring System (HSMS) in the hospital and setting Passage Surveillance System (PSS) in designated passage ways. The ultimate aim of the smart prison system is to combine operational systems and innovation and technology to collect, analyse and apply different data to improve the Department's operational efficiency and institutional management, strengthen its readiness in emergency response and facilitate its long-term strategic planning.
 
     Mr Cheung then visited LWCI's hospital where CSD officers explained the application of HSMS and PSS during daily operation. HSMS aims to monitor health conditions of persons in custody that have medical and nursing needs, including those with risks of self-harm or suicide, to enable correctional officers to receive early signals of any abnormal health conditions of persons in custody for immediate follow-up actions, thereby reducing their safety risk and enhancing quality of medical care.
 
     The Department also installs PSS in passage ways to trace real-time locations of persons in custody. An alarm will be set off once a person in custody's movement deviates from a prescribed route so that CSD officers can take follow-up action immediately. This helps to enhance the daily operational efficiency of institutions and strengthen the monitoring of persons in custody.
 
     Mr Cheung pointed out that the current-term Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies through innovation and technology. He commended CSD's relentless effort in developing the smart prison system to help the Department cope with the swift, complex and ever-changing social environment while building an integrated and sustainable correctional system for Hong Kong.
 
     Mr Cheung also visited the dormitories and dayrooms to observe the daily routines of frontline CSD officers before he proceeded to the computer room and the PSY GYM.
 
     He was pleased to note that the Department had all along strived to rehabilitate persons in custody. CSD has not only arranged vocational training for persons in custody, but also established the first-ever psychological gymnasium to provide personal growth and emotion treatment centre for female adult persons in custody and specialised treatment programmes for female offenders. 
 
     Before concluding the visit, Mr Cheung visited the food waste decomposing system at LWCI. He encouraged the Department to continue to attach importance to environmental protection and strive to reduce food waste in correctional institutions.

Ends/Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Issued at HKT 17:08

NNNN