In 2007, 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 2007 is given in the following pages.

My Division will continue to do our best to support the Department in 2008.

Stanley W.H. WONG
Civil Secretary

Under the charge of an Administrative Officer Staff Grade C, the Administration, Personnel and Planning Division comprises of five sections, namely: Administration Section, Accounts Section, Information Technology & Planning Section, Public Relations Section, and Statistics & Research Section.

Administration Section

The Section which is headed by a Chief Executive Officer consists of five units. The Section oversees matters relating to departmental administration, appointments, establishment and personnel management, stores and procurement, translation services and management of general grade staff.  
 
The Departmental Administration Unit provides administrative and logistical support for departmental headquarters and penal institutions, covering resource management, green management, records and building management. It maintains grade management for 500 General Grade staff in the department.

The Personnel Unit handles all appointments and personnel matters. In 2007, the Unit extended the "Pull Mode" of the e-pay statement system to all staff of the Department. It also updated the information in the Central Payroll Related Database for all staff of the Department to ensure that the information critical to the processing of fringe benefits is accurate and up-to-date. The Unit also concluded a total of 27 open and in-service recruitment and promotion exercises.

The Establishment Unit oversees all establishment matters, including the creation and deletion of posts, temporary redeployment due to operational needs and secretarial services to the Departmental Establishment Committee.

The Internal Audit Office inspects financial and stores functions of all institutions to uphold Government regulations and procedures. In 2007, five institutions saw full inspections with follow-up visits. The Office also assists in thematic studies.

The Translation Unit provides full translation and interpretation in both Chinese and English languages as well as Vietnamese, Spanish, Hakka, sign language and others.

1. Institutional Goods and Equipment - $36.36 million
2. Prisoners' Clothing - $7.23 million; and
3. Staff Uniform - $4.47 million

Accounts Section

Headed by a Senior Treasury Accountant, this section consists of the Departmental Accounts Office, the Management Accounts Office and the Industries Accounts Office. It is responsible for all financial and accounting operations, including those pertaining to the Correctional Services Industries.

The Department's total expenditure in 2007 was $2,445 million, excluding capital cost of building works. This represents a 4.9% rise on the previous year, mainly due to increased expenditure on personal emoluments.

Total revenue collected from various sources during the year amounted to $46 million, including $39 million in rent from staff quarters.

Information Technology and Planning Section

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

The e-Operations and the e-Administration Offices jointly play a guiding role in planning, initiating and coordinating computerisation and IT activities. The e-Operations Office specialises in network development and management of operational IT projects and penal information systems. The e-Administration Office focuses on management of administrative computer systems, projects and maintenance of departmental websites and Intranet Portals. At the end of 2007, the Department had around 2 600 Personal Computers and over 180 Servers.

We have established a Wide Area Network (WAN) connecting the Local Area Networks of Headquarters and institutions which forms the CSD communication backbone for electronic mails, Intranet and Internet Services and various administrative and operational applications. We started a project in late 2007 to upgrade the underlying technology of the WAN which would greatly enhance the bandwidth and scalability of the WAN connections.

In 2007, we completed the upgrading project of the Electronic Mail and Confidential Mail Systems. We also completed a Feasibility Study as well as the System Analysis and Design of an Inmate Mail Information System which aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the inmate mail handling process and to standardise as far as practical the mail handling procedures for all institutions.

Revamped in December 2004 to comply with "the Common Look and Feel" standards of Government websites, our bilingual internet website 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.

To keep abreast of the prevailing trend on integration of information and communication technology and promote wider application of technology in more business processes, a Departmental Committee on Integrated Technology was established in February 2007 to oversee the integration and application of technology across different sections of the Department. The e-Administration and e-Operations Offices provide technical and administration support to the new Committee in achieving this goal.

The Planning Office plans for the construction of new institutions and rejuvenates the existing aged correctional facilities in conjunction with the Architectural Services Department and Electrical and Mechanical Services Department. The notable milestones for the year include "Installation of Electrical Motorised Security Passage and Gates" at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre and "Provision of Evaluation and Treatment Unit" for sex offenders at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre. To implement the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance in 2007, the installation of smoking booths at all concerned institutions was in good progress.   

Over the years, our major task is to improve aging penal facilities and relieve overcrowding in some of the penal institutions. To alleviate the problems, the Department has carried out in-situ redevelopment projects, that is, to construct new penal institutions on the original sites after the demolition of the existing buildings. The Lo Wu Correctional Institution Redevelopment Project, which commenced in April 2007 for completion in December 2009 to accommodate 1 400 inmates, is a good example of its kind. Besides, in view of the severe overcrowding problem in female penal institutions in recent years, works are being carried out to convert Lai King Training Centre to an institution for female offenders to maximise resource deployment of male training centres. Another project in hand is the "Additional Dormitory Block at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre", which will provide 144 additional penal places after its completion in the first quarter of 2008.  

Project funding has been secured for "Redevelopment of Stanley Prison Area Phase II – Cell Link Block", "Conversion of Lai King Training Centre" and "Improvement of CCTV System at Shek Pik Prison". Funding for "Redevelopment of Chi Ma Wan Prison Area" is also earmarked in the 2007 Resources Allocation Exercise.

As part of our continuous commitment to environmental protection and fire safety, the Department is replacing the lighting devices with energy saving fluorescent tubes, and upgrading the sewage treatment facilities and fire services installations in penal institutions.

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.

Public Relations Section

It delivers information about plans, services and activities to the media, and enhances public awareness of developments in custodial and rehabilitative services. It handles media enquiries, issues press releases, and arranges press conferences, interviews with correctional officers as well as media visits to institutions. The Section also handles publicity pamphlets, booklets, posters, exhibitions, TV and radio announcements, and edits the Department's newsletter, The Guardian.

Statistics and Research Section

Headed by a Senior Statistician, the Section consists of the Statistics Unit and the Research Unit. It provides statistical and research support for the strategic planning, monitoring and review of the Department's operations and correctional programmes.

Apart from compiling 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 updated assessments of the adequacy of future provision of penal accommodation and conducts studies on drug abuse among sentenced persons admitted, self-harm behaviour of offenders in custody and recidivism of discharged local offenders.