In 2006, the Administration, Personnel and Planning Division continued to provide support to the operation of the Department. I would like to thank my staff who often work behind the scenes to ensure files and papers are delivered, the computer and telephone work, bills are paid, statistics are correct, stores and equipment are supplied, the media are kept informed…… An account of what we did in 2006 is given in the following pages.

My Division will continue to do our best to support the Department in 2007. 

Stanley W.H. Wong
Civil Secretary

Under the charge of the Civil Secretary, the Administration, Personnel and Planning Division comprises the Administration Section, the Accounts Section, the Information Technology and Planning Section, the Public Relations Section and the Statistics and Research Section.

Administration Section

The Administration Section which is headed by a Chief Executive Officer consists of the Departmental Administration Office, the Establishment Unit, the Internal Audit Office, the Personnel Unit, the Translation Unit and the Central Supplies Office.

The Departmental Administration Office looks after administrative and logistical support for both the departmental headquarters and penal institutions in resources management, green management, records and building management. It is also responsible for the grade management of some 500 General Grades staff in the Department.

The Personnel Unit handles all appointments and personnel matters. In 2006, the Personnel Unit together with the e-Administration Office extended e-payslip to all the 6 600 staff in CSD and implemented the second phase of e-Leave, by increasing the overall user rate from 6.1% to 9.7%.  

The Establishment Unit is responsible for all establishment matters including the creation/deletion of posts, temporary redeployment of posts for operational needs and provides secretarial service to the Departmental Establishment Committee. 

Civil Secretary Stanley Wong and section heads discuss progress of different projects.

The Internal Audit Office is responsible for inspecting the financial and stores function of all institutions to ensure that the Government regulations and procedures are complied with. In 2006, full inspections were carried out in six institutions. To ensure that the recommendations were implemented, six follow-up visits were conducted. The Office also assisted in thematic studies.

The Translation Unit provides translation and interpretation services in both official languages as well as in other languages and dialects, like Vietnamese, Spanish, Hakka and sign language, etc.

CSD implements five-day week in some offices by stages.

The Central Supplies Office is responsible for all administrative and financial matters relating to procurement and supplies of stores and equipment with the exception of the supplies functions pertaining the Correctional Services Industries which are handled by the Industrial Supplies Office. The annual amount of purchase involved in 2005/06 was as follows:-

1. Goods and Equipment for Institutions - $48.4 M;
2. Clothes for Prisoners - $7M; and
3. Staff Uniform - $4.5M.

Accounts Section

The Accounts Section which is headed by a Senior Treasury Account consists of the Departmental Accounts Office, the Management Accounts Office and the Industries Accounts Office.

The total expenditure for the Department in 2006 was $2,331 million, excluding the capital cost of building works, representing a 1.3% decrease against the previous year. The decrease was mainly due to reduced expenditure on personal emoluments.

Total revenue collected from various sources during the year amounted to $45 million, including $38 million in rent for staff quarters.

For 2006, the total amounts of purchases and recoveries under the Correctional Services Industries Suspense Account were $91 million and $90 million respectively.

Information Technology and Planning Section

The Information Technology and Planning Section which is headed by a Senior Superintendent consists of the e-Administration Office, the e-Operations Office and the Planning Office.

The e-Operations Office and the e-Administration Office jointly play a guiding role in planning, initiating and coordinating computerisation and IT activities. The e-Operations Unit specialises in network development and management of operational IT projects and penal information systems. The e-Administration Unit focuses on the management of administrative computer systems and projects, maintenance of the departmental website and the Intranet. At the end of 2006, the Department had a total of 2 634 PCs, 178 servers, and 1 697 printers.

Staff of Information Technology and Planning Section conduct a site visit.

We have established a Wide Area Network (WAN) under the Penal Information Management System which merges the Local Area Networks of Headquarters with institutions through Frame Relay or Asynchronous Transfer Mode. The WAN forms the CSD communication backbone for electronic mails, Intranet and Internet services, and operation of various applications, such as Penal Records Information System, Ration Orders Management System and Confidential Mail System.

In January 2006, we successfully implemented the Accessibility Programme (AP). This programme provides all staff with an email account for their electronic communication with counterparts in other government bureaux and departments and enables them to access resources on both Intranet and Internet.

In addition, two major operational computerisation projects, namely the Rehabilitation Programmes Management System (RPMS) and Penal Record Information System II (PRIS II) were completed in 2006. RPMS was developed to keep and process rehabilitation services information. PRIS II which provides a user-friendly graphical interface, Chinese characters support and 20 new functions, was developed to replace the existing PRIS.

Our bilingual Internet website, which was revamped in December 2004 to comply with "the Common Look and Feel" standards of Government websites, continues to provide information about departmental operations, annual reviews, environmental reports, penal population statistics, tender notices and recruitment advertisements, etc., for public browsing and downloading.

The Planning Office plans for the construction of new institutions and redevelopment of existing institutions in conjunction with the Architectural Services Department. The Lai Chi Kok Correctional Institution which was formally open on 27 July 2006, provides 438 penal places for reprovisioning of Victoria Prison plus 212 additional penal places. It has helped alleviate the severe overcrowding problem. Major projects under construction or planning include the construction of an additional dormitory block in Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre and the redevelopment of Lo Wu Correctional Institution.

The Lo Wu Redevelopment Project is the first stage of our long-term prison development plan. The Project will provide a prison complex of three institutions with a total of 1 400 places. Construction works are anticipated to commence in April 2007 and be completed by December 2009. We are also studying the feasibility of redeveloping the existing Chi Ma Wan prison area.

Improvements to facilities in institutions are constantly being carried out. The improvement works to the outdoor range of Staff Training Institute were completed this year. Major projects in hand or under planning include a new visit room cum administration block in Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre, vehicle repair depot in Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre, and replacement of security perimeter fence and enhancement of CCTV systems in institutions. As part of our commitment to environmental protection and fire safety, we are replacing the lighting devices with energy saving fluorescent tubes, and upgrading the sewage treatment facilities and the fire services installations in our institutions. In addition, to cope with the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2006, we are going to set up smoking booths at various institutions. Works are expected to commence in January 2007 for completion in July of the year.

Inmate labour is used in many minor building works, improvement and maintenance projects. This not only provides opportunities for inmates to receive corrective and vocational training, but also achieves considerable savings in public expenditure. A list of the Department's major works projects is at Appendix 18.

Public Relations Section

Media visits to correctional institutions help promote public understanding of CSD's work and services.

The Public Relations Section disseminates information about the Department's plans, services and activities to the media. By keeping the media informed, the Section helps enhance public awareness of the latest developments in custodial and rehabilitative services of the Department. In 2006, the Section handled about
18 500 press and public enquiries, issued 206 press releases and arranged 143 interviews between the media and CSD officers. Media visits to penal institutions and press briefings and conferences were also arranged. The Section assists and advises on publicity items, including pamphlets, booklets, posters, exhibition panels and TV and radio announcements in public interest. It also provides editorial service to the Department's monthly newsletter – The Guardian.

Statistics and Research Section

The Section which is headed by a Senior Statistician consists of the Statistics Unit and the Research Unit. The Section provides statistical and research support for the strategic planning, monitoring and review of correctional services programmes and operation control.

Apart from compiling regular statistical reports to meet management and planning needs, the Statistics Unit conducts an annual survey to collect statistics on the socio-economic characteristics and criminal background of the penal population. It also updates the penal population projection on a regular basis to provide an updated assessment of the adequacy of future provision of penal accommodation and conducts studies on psychotropic drug abuse among sentenced persons admitted, self-harm behaviour of persons in custody and recidivism of discharged local offenders.

The Research Unit undertakes research studies on correctional treatment, operation and administration to improve the effectiveness of individual rehabilitation programmes and the correctional system. It also assists in policy formulation, decision making and problem solving by providing background reference materials, research analyses and technical advice.