Human Resource Management

Correctional Officers serve the community with unanimous values and vision. Human Resource Division is tasked to develop an ethical and professional team through implementing strategic human resource development initiatives and sustainable development plans to prepare for future challenges and achieve the Department’s long-term goals of protecting the public and preventing crime.

To fill up the vacancies arising from retirement and other staff wastage, 64 Officers, 292 Assistant Officers II, 8 Technical Instructors and 16 Instructors were recruited in 2017.

Staff Training Institute (STI) provides professional development training for serving staff and organises professional training for other local disciplined services and correctional agencies in the Mainland and overseas. In 2017, STI conducted 346 different training courses and programmes, including various levels of command courses, development training courses and tactical training courses for 6 466 staff members. Amongst all, respective command courses are designed for Officers up to Superintendents as they rise through the ranks. Refresher courses and duty-related training courses in the fields of institutional operation, nursing and health care, institutional security, rehabilitation and supervision, training and management, escort and support as well as emergency response and control, etc., are also arranged for all serving staff from Principal Officers to Assistant Officers II. These development training courses aim at equipping staff with the necessary skills and job knowledge required for institutional operation and their career development needs.

To prepare potential members of the Regional Response Team for the highly challenging duties, STI has developed an 11-week training programme, namely the “Professional Certificate in Safe and Effective Control Tactics (PCSECT)” featuring not only daily operational skills and knowledge but also modules on tactical instructor training and placement to further strengthen the professional development of trainees on control tactics. In addition, a six-day training programme on control tactics for frontline officers, namely the “Certificate in Safe and Effective Control Tactics” (CSECT) was designed for frontline staff to enhance their overall competency in handling emergency and the effectiveness of custodial management. The programmes are recognised at Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (QF) Level 4 (same level of an Associate Degree) and QF Level 3 (same level of a Diploma) respectively, and graduates will be awarded QF-recognised certificates of respective levels upon completion of programmes. The Department believes that success in gaining accreditation for the training programmes sets a new milestone towards the professional development of staff training. To further enhance staff capability in defensive skills, “Tai Chi Safe Defensive Techniques” have been incorporated into tactical training courses for recruits and tactical training refresher courses for serving staff since May and August 2015 respectively. A total of 4 989 staff members received such trainings in 2017.

The Department also continued to arrange training courses for 259 officers of other local law enforcement agencies and the Macao Prison, etc. The professionalism of these training courses, including Intermediate Command Course (Higher), Immigration Department Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre Tactical Training Course and Tactical Defensive Team Training Course, etc. has been highly recognised. Since 2008, the Department has been co-organising the programme of Advanced Diploma in Applied Social Sciences (Corrections) with The University of Hong Kong School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE) for our staff. A total of 405 staff members were sponsored for the programme as at 2017. For the top-up degree programme of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Work Based Learning Studies (Corrections) jointly organised with HKU SPACE and Middlesex University, UK, a total of 50 officers enrolled in the Bachelor programme since 2011. Amongst them, 32 officers have completed the programme and attained the qualification.

To further enhance communication with the persons in custody of other nationalities and understanding of ethnic minorities in the territory, the Department continued to organise classes of 6 foreign languages including Punjabi, Nepalese, Vietnamese, Urdu, Indonesian and Spanish for recruits and serving staff in 2017.

To boost management calibre, problem solving and decision making skills, as well as leadership competence of Senior Officers, the Department has collaborated with a local training agency to organise a workshop entitled “To be a Highly Effective Manager and Making Highly Effective Decision” in January 2017.

Given the ever-changing social environment and ever-rising public expectations, CSD is committed to developing knowledge management (KM) to improve the quality of correctional officers, foster continuous learning culture and facilitate succession of experience. The effort of KM Steering Committee led by Deputy Commissioner, coupled with the support and participation of all staff, have borne fruits in different aspects of KM. CSD won the “Top Winner Award” amongst the winners of the 2017 edition of Hong Kong “Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE) Award” and “The Best in Knowledge Culture Award”, followed by the Asian MAKE Award later. CSD was the only organisation in Hong Kong to have received the award this year, which confirmed that CSD has attained an international standard in KM.

In achieving sustainable development and professionalism in correctional work, CSD has been appointing academics from universities, professionals and retired government officials as Honorary Advisors of the STI for their professional advice on the development of training programmes offered by the STI and recommendations on the long-term training directions and strategies. 11 Honorary Advisors have been appointed by the end of 2017.

In 2017, the “Institutional-based Mentorship Programme” extended its mentee coverage to all staff under 3 years of service upon completion of refresher workshops for mentors. “Mentor-Mentee Partnership Award” was arranged in December 2017 to help mentors and mentees develop closer ties and partnership after work.

The STI held two “Open Day” activities in March and July 2017 which attracted secondary school students and the public to visit the STI and the Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum to gain understanding about the correctional work and development of CSD, thereby promoting community education and instilling positive values towards life in students and youngsters. As an important link between the Department and the community, the Museum not only showcase the evolution of Hong Kong’s penal system and the integrated role of the Department under the criminal justice system but also promotes the acceptance of rehabilitated persons. In 2017, 313 visiting groups with 39 560 visitors visited the Museum, and the cumulative visitors have reached and exceeded 800 000.

The Senior and Junior Departmental Consultative Committee hold meeting on quarterly basis to enhance the communication and mutual understanding between the management and staff who would in turn gain better views on departmental policies and staff related matters. Consultations were conducted regularly with staff representatives in 2017 to gather the opinions of staff on matters such as review of alternative shift arrangement, quartering policy, implementation of final extension of civil service and post-retirement service contract scheme, etc.

The Unit also administers the “Correctional Services Department Welfare Fund” and “Correctional Services Department Central Fund” with the former supporting amenities for staff and serving and retired staff in the form of loans and grants, whereas the latter provides group insurance coverage for staff on a voluntary basis.

In 2017, over $1.21 million was granted to 193 recipients under the “Correctional Services Children’s Education Trust”, a financial assistance to children of serving and retired Assistant Officers and equivalent grades in the Department to pursue higher education, and to their disabled children undergoing full-time education or training. The “Oi Kwan Education Scholarship” founded by the Correctional Services Department Staff Club, granted a scholarship of $103 000 to 22 staff members who succeeded in upgrading their academic qualifications and 9 children of our staff with outstanding academic results in 2017. Moreover, the “Si Li Ji Ren Foundation” under the Correctional Services Department Staff Club sponsored 17 children of our staff with outstanding achievement in various fields for a 5-day exchange programme in the Mainland in July 2017. Participants deepened their understanding on the social and economic development of the Mainland and experienced the living environment and study conditions of rural children.

The Correctional Services Department Sports Association organises sports and recreation activities for staff to promote a healthy and balanced lifestyle and cultivate their team spirit. In 2017, Annual Sports Meet, Swimming Gala, 10km Distance Run, Family Outing on Hei Ling and a wide variety of inter-institutional competitions were organised. The Correctional Services Department Choir and the Correctional Services Department Pipe Band, comprising around 35 and 10 serving and retired staff members respectively, are formed for those fond of music or in favour of singing performance activities. CSD actively participates in charity and fund-raising events such as Community Chest of Hong Kong’s Corporate and Employee Contribution Programme (CECP) and Walk for Millions. In 2016-17, the Department was presented with the CECP Gold Award, ECP Outstanding Award, Highest Donation Award and Highest Participation Rate Award of Civil Service Category. It also had the Outstanding Walking Team Award in the Walks for Millions and Award of Merit under its belt.

Recognised by the “Caring Organisation Logo” presented by the Hong Kong Council of Social Services since May 2016, the Oi Kwan Volunteer Group Limited (OKVGL) contributed 19 682 service hours of voluntary work by 3 938 volunteers in services such as home visits, cleaning services for the elderly, organising parties for persons with intellectual disabilities, etc. in 2017. OKVGL also provided life planning and education programmes for the youth and ethnic minorities to promote social inclusion.

Clinical Psychologists (Staff Services) of Staff Psychological Services (SPS) provide psychological services including psychotherapy and psycho-education materials to staff and their families, render training to recruits and serving staff on stress management and work-related psychological topics, and manage staff relaxation facilities at Staff Health Centres. Starting from September 2017, the number of Clinical Psychologist (Staff Services) has been increased from two to three with an aim to providing more comprehensive staff psychological services. In 2017, the team promoted and boosted positivity and compassion amongst staff by posters, monthly comics on the Guardian and the phrases for living via email. Two leaflets on alcoholism and conflict resolution were also produced whereas two micro-movies, namely “Offwork Papa” and “Étude”, were made to promote harmonious family relationship and work adjustment for all new staff members. To commemorate the 35^th Anniversary of Renaming Prisons Department as Correctional Services Department, a booklet entitled “Articles of Hearty Words (Conference 2017 Special Edition)” were published to help the seedling of positive thinking. Relaxation techniques and knowledge were incorporated into refresher courses whilst stress management training and annual review were provided to members of Regional Response Team to equip them with the required psychological being. Mobile version of SPS website has been launched since October 2017 to facilitate staff and their family members to access at their convenience after work.

With the sustainable dedication in caring for the well-being of staff, their families and the community, the Department retained its “10 Years Plus Caring Organisation Logo” awarded under the Caring Company Scheme by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service.

Over the years, the Department has been attaching great importance to promoting integrity management, and pursuing a wide scope of initiatives to cultivate, nurture and strengthen the ethical culture amongst staff. In 2017, Integrity Quiz Challenges at regional and departmental levels were conducted for reinforcing the sense of integrity amongst staff. A total of 247 Integrity Ambassadors and 23 Integrity Management Teams strived to help devise strategies and organise campaign at institutional level. The Department has been working with the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to provide integrity training and anti-corruption talks for serving staff. Moreover, the new version of the Integrity Management Guidebook was published in 2017 to provide the most updated guidelines for staff to enhance their understanding of integrity management.

With a view to improving staff’s service conditions, alternative shift pattern had been put on trial at certain institutions to streamline shift pattern, increase operational efficiency and institutional security, and enhance leave arrangement. Other institutions would continue to study the feasibility of alternative shift pattern in different patterns. The Department believes that the provision of stable residence can enhance their working spirit and promote their sense of belonging to the correctional work. Reviews on staff accommodation facilities are thus in the pipeline coupled with active deliberation with relevant authorities to seek a possible long-term increase of supply in married quarters. The staff quarters’ projects in Tin Wan, Aberdeen and Kwun Tong to be completed tentatively by 2019 would provide over 100 units of married quarters for our junior grade staff.

CSD continued to strengthen professional ties with Mainland counterparts with delegations visiting the respective Prison Administration Bureau of Shaanxi Province, Shanxi Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in 2017. Internationally, on July 19 and 20 2017, CSD launched “Conference 2017” to engage counterparts, scholars and community partners worldwide for thematic seminars and discussion to help promote the development of the correctional profession. CSD also made professional exchanges with overseas counterparts by participating in major international conferences such as the Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators, International Corrections and Prisons Association Conference, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Prison and Correctional Services Conference, the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI), etc., with an aim to diversifying the exposures of staff for better succession planning and benchmarking best practices amongst counterparts towards professionalism and excellence in our services.

The Legal Research Unit is responsible for legal consultations on legal issues with service-wide implication. The Unit also establishes and manages a centralised legal advice database on Knowledge Management System for staff to gain access to legal reference materials and advices for self-enrichment towards professionalism.

In 2017, the Unit helped organise legal training courses including training workshop of “Being a Prosecuting Officer in the disciplinary proceedings against staff” tailored for Principal Officers’ enhancement of legal professional knowledge.

The Unit assists subject Divisions in liaising with Government counsels and brief-out counsels to handle cases of judicial review filed by applicants against the exercise of power or policies of the Department. It renders support in the formulation of departmental policies on issues such as haircut of persons in custody and staff disciplinary proceedings and public consultation by the Government on legal issues.