Human Resource Management

Correctional Officers serve the community with unanimous values and aspirations. Human Resource Division is tasked to develop a professional and ethical team through implementing strategic human resource development initiatives to meet future challenges and achieve long-term sustainable goals of the Department.

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Staff Recruitment, Training and Development

To fill up the vacancies in the Department arising from retirement and other staff wastage, 50 Officers, 189 Assistant Officers II, 8 Technical Instructors and 14 Instructors were recruited in 2015. To meet the increasing social expectation on our services and the training needs of the serving staff, Staff Training Institute (STI) provides professional development training for serving staff and organises training for some local disciplined services and correctional jurisdictions in the Mainland and overseas.

STI conducted 288 different types of training courses and programmes, such as various command courses, development training courses and tactical training courses for 6 156 staff members in 2015. Among all, the Junior Command Course, Intermediate Command Course and Intermediate Command Course (Higher) are designed for Officers, Principal Officers and Chief Officers respectively whilst Senior Command Course is arranged for Superintendents.

The Institute also arranged refresher courses and duties related training courses in the fields of institutional operation, hospital and health care, institutional security, rehabilitation and supervision, training and management, escort and support and emergency response and control, etc., for all serving staff from Principal Officer to Assistant Officer II. These development training courses aim at equipping staff with knowledge and skills relevant to their duties and enhance their career development needs.

To further enhance staff capability in dealing with emergency situations, training on Tai Chi Safe Defensive Techniques (TCSDT) has been included in the tactical training for all new recruits since May 2015, while tactical training refresher courses were also organised for serving staff. A total of 2 110 staff received such training in 2015. The Department also arranged training courses such as Immigration Department Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre Tactical Training Course and Tactical Defensive Team Training Course for 244 staff of local law enforcement agencies and the Macau Prison.

To equip staff with the essential practical skills in discharging daily duties in particular during emergency situations, the correctional facilities in the former Ma Hang Prison and Chi Ma Wan Correctional Institution were redeveloped into training bases for conducting scenario-based training for new recruits and serving staff.

We continue to cooperate with The University of Hong Kong School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE) to organise the Advanced Diploma in Applied Social Sciences (Corrections) Programme for our staff. The programme began in 2008 and 315 staff members were sponsored for the training. The top-up degree programme, i.e. Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Work Based Learning Studies (Corrections) Programme, jointly organized by the Department, HKU SPACE and an overseas university, has been held since 2011. A total of 41 Advanced Diploma graduates have enrolled the BA course. 19 have completed the course with the obtainment of the degree.

In addition, 10 language courses on Punjabi, Nepalese, Vietnamese, Urdu, Indonesian and Spanish were organized by a local tertiary institution for our new recruits and selected serving officers to enhance job efficacy and their understanding of the ethnic minorities in the territory in 2015.

To strengthen professional knowledge and skills in disciplinary hearing for persons in custody, the Chief Magistrate Mr Clement Lee was invited to conduct two sharing sessions for the senior officers. To promote understanding of the impact of social media on correctional policies and service development, STI and The Chinese University of Hong Kong jointly organised a social media training workshop for senior officers in March 2015. Also, STI worked in collaboration with the Training School of Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)providing training on giving evidence in court to our staff in the year.

To further upgrade the Knowledge Management System (KMS), improvement and enhancement projects have been launched continuously. In 2015, the e-learning platform was further developed to open up access to KMS via mobile devices. Furthermore, mini-blog was created in KMS to serve as an effective channel for knowledge sharing, information exchange and communication between senior management and staff members in correctional issues and topics of common concern. In 2015 ahead, we will strive to improve KMS to facilitate the best use and management of knowledge.

The "Institutional-based Mentorship Programme" continues to expand its function. Institutional Mentoring Committee headed by a Superintendent of each institution was set up in 2014 to provide effective mentoring and help new staff adapt to the working environment. As at the end of the year, there were a total of 544 mentors guiding 1 814 mentees. A “Best Mentor” Award Scheme was launched in March 2015 as a recognition to mentors who were willing to contribute their time and patience in providing assistance to new staff members through sharing their work knowledge and experience and thus further boost staff morale.

As one of the most important channel between the Department and the community, the Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum showcases the historical evolution of Hong Kong’s penal system and the integrated role of the Department under the criminal justice system, as well as the promotion of acceptance of ex-offenders by the society. During 2015, the Museum received 418 visiting groups with 45 011 visitors including overseas and local dignitaries, students and members of some charity groups and non-governmental organisations, etc. Since its opening in late 2002, more than 700 000 visitors have visited the Museum.

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Staff Relations and Welfare

The Senior and Junior Departmental Consultative Committee quarterly meetings have been mutually beneficial consultation mechanisms to enhance understandings and facilitate exchange of views on policies and staff related issues. Regular consultations were also conducted with staff representatives in the year to solicit staff views on special matters such as further review of five-day work week, extension of retirement age of civil servants and quartering policy.

On staff assistance, the Staff Relations and Welfare Unit helps process the application of loans and grants for certain serving and retired staff and their family members issued through the Correctional Services Department Welfare Fund. The Unit administers the Correctional Services Department Central Fund to provide group insurance coverage for staff on voluntary basis.

The Correctional Services Children’s Education Trust continues to provide financial assistance to children and disabled children undertaking full-time education or training of Assistant Officers and equivalent grades in the Department to help them pursue higher education. In 2015, over $1.1 million was granted to 210 recipients. The Correctional Services Department Staff Club also founded the Oi Kwan Education Scholarship to promote life-long learning among staff and award their children with outstanding academic results. In 2015, over $0.158 million was granted to 36 recipients.

The work of the Correctional Services Department Sports Association (CSDSA) is an essential part of our drive to promote a healthy and balanced lifestyle among staff. During the year, the Annual Sports Meet, Swimming Gala, 10 km Distance Run, Family Outing on Hei Ling and various inter-institutional competitions were organised.

The Correctional Services Department Choir which comprises around 35 serving and retired staff members has been established for those in favour of less vigorous recreation activities.

The Department participates actively in charity and fund-raising events, including the Community Chest of Hong Kong’s Corporate and Employee Contribution Programme (CECP) and Walk for Millions. In 2014/2015, we were presented with the CECP Gold Award, ECP Outstanding Award, Highest Donation Award and Highest Participation Rate Award of Civil Service Category. The Department also won the Outstanding Walking Team Award in the Walks for Millions and Award of Merit as an overall achievement.

The Oi Kwan Volunteer Group Limited further prospers in terms of its membership and service hours. In 2015, 31 204 service hours of voluntary work were provided by 3 202 volunteers in various social services including home visits and cleaning services for the elderly, organising party for people with intellectual disabilities and providing logistic support for different organisations in charity events. In 2015, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Oi Kwan Volunteer Group Limited, a sustainable voluntary services campaign namely “Love Peer, Caring Society” was launched in cooperation with four social service organisations to serve different target groups in the community. Besides, the Department also encourages staff to give a helping hand by cooperating with the Red Cross to organise regular blood donation at institutions.

With the two Staff Health Centres located in Lai Chi Kok and Stanley, Clinical Psychologists (Staff Services) provide parallel services including psychotherapy, psycho-education materials and relaxation facilities, etc. to staff and their families. Staff Psychological Services also renders training to new recruits and serving staff on stress management and various psychological topics applied in work setting.

Following the success in 2014, the Optimism and Care Project continued to be the theme for the productions under the Healthy and Balanced Lifestyle Campaign, including an animated movie and two short films. Leaflets on resilience and appreciation were also produced by the end of 2015, and the ambassador of the Project, Dandelion, continued to boost self-compassion and strengths of staff via posters and monthly comics on "The Guardian", as well as the phrases for living distributed via internal email. Besides, a bi-monthly activity called "Book Recommendation" has been launched since May 2015. This aimed to promote living wisdom via reading. Moreover, a pilot scheme called "Relaxation Session" was also on trial run in some institutions, encouraging members of staff to adopt stress coping skills.

With the continuous, sustainable and total commitment in caring for the well-being of staff and their families as well as the community, the Department was awarded the "10 Years Plus Caring Organisation Logo" under the Caring Company Scheme organised by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service in 2015.

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Staff Administration and Integrity Management

Further efforts were stepped up to intensify the integrity management within CSD through diversified activities, such as "Best Proposal on Integrity Promotion Competition", to encourage staff involvement in the promotion of integrity and ethical culture, and the response from staff was positive.

As at December 2015, a total of 188 Integrity Ambassadors were appointed to assist in nurturing and sustaining an ethical culture at institutional level. Anti-corruption talks held by the ICAC have been arranged as integrity training for all CSD staff within a specific cycle in the hope to further strengthen work ethics and positive value of our staff that help steer our professional services towards excellence.

With a view to improving the conditions of service, a Task Group was appointed in the year to further identify suitable disciplined workposts for migration to five-day work week. Other caring policies such as five-day paternity leave entitled to all male civil servants and the provision of breastfeeding facilities in workplaces for lactating employees have all been supported and implemented.

A stable environment is essential to staff and to live without anxiety can definitively enhance their sense of belonging to the Department. With a view to increasing the supply of married quarters for junior staff, a number of conversion projects were implemented in 2015, such as combining the married quarters into bigger units in Tai Tam Gap Correctional Institution, reversion of surplus accommodations into married quarters in Shek Pik and Hei Ling Chau as well as converting overnight sleeping rooms into married quarters in Stanley. After completing these improvement projects, a total of 33 units of married quarters were included into the Quarters Allocation Exercises for staff's selection.

In July 2015, the redevelopment project in Fu Tei was completed and all 54 units of married quarters for the Department were allocated to staff. Also, the quarters’ project in Tin Wan, Aberdeen led by CSD and the project in Kwun Tong led by the Immigration Department would be completed in 2019 to provide more than 100 units of married quarters for junior staff. We will continue to enhance the supply of married quarters through various means to address the accommodation needs of staff.

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Professional Exchange

CSD continues to strengthen professional ties with Mainland counterparts. In 2015, CSD delegations visited respective Prison Administration Bureau in Guangdong Province and Hainan Province.

Internationally, CSD continued to maintain professional exchanges through participation in major international conferences such as the Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA), International Corrections and Prisons Association Conference, Association of Paroling Authorities International Training Conference, The United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, etc. We aim at diversifying the exposures of staff members for succession planning and benchmarking best practices with our counterparts towards professionalism and excellence in our services.

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Legal Research & Consultation

Established in June 2014, the Legal Research Unit is tasked to coordinate relevant legal consulting work when legal issues with departmental﹣wide implication arise. The Unit is also responsible for establishing, coordinating and managing a centralised legal advice database, through uploading the relevant information in departmental Knowledge Management System to provide colleagues with access to reference materials and legal advices for self-enhancement and work skills improvement.

In 2015, the Unit co-ordinated with Department of Justice, tertiary institution and law enforcement agency and invited professionals to provide legal training to our colleagues on specific topics, e.g. giving evidence in court, how to conduct a fair hearing, etc., so as to enhance the overall legal professional standard in the Department.

The Unit also assisted the subject Divisions in liaising with government counsels and brief-out counsels to handle those cases of judicial review filed by the applicants against the decisions or policies of the Department.

It also rendered assistance to the Department in the formulation or review of departmental policies e.g. hair cut of persons in custody, disciplinary proceedings against staff and persons in custody etc. and when the government conducted public consultation on some legal topics.

Hong Kong Correctional Services Annual Review 2015