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 Department’ s future challenges and achieve long-term goals of protecting the public and reducing crime.

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Staff Recruitment, Training Development and Going Professional

To fill up the vacancies in the Department arising from retirement and other staff wastage, 53 Officers, 316 Assistant Officers II, 14 Technical Instructors and 22 Instructors were recruited in 2016. 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 313 different types of training courses and programmes, such as various command courses, development training courses and tactical training courses for 6 959 staff members in 2016. Among all, the relevant command courses are designed for Officers up to Superintendents as they rise through the ranks.

The Institute also arranged refresher courses and duties 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., for all serving staff from Principal Officers to Assistant Officers II. These development training courses aim at equipping staff with knowledge and skills relevant to their duties and enhance their career development needs.

To prepare potential members of the newly established Regional Response Team and the Correctional Emergency Response Team(CERT) for the highly challenging jobs in the future, the STI has comprehensively reviewed the former CERT Training Course and developed a new 11-week training programme, namely the Professional Certificate in Safe and Effective Control Tactics (PCSECT). The new programme includes modules on tactical instructor training and placement to strengthen the professional development of trainees on control tactics. In addition, STI also designed a six-day training programme on control tactics for frontline officers, namely the Certificate in Safe and Effective Control Tactics, so as to enhance the overall competency of staff in handling emergency situations and thus the effectiveness of custodial management.

The Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications confirmed on June 14, 2016 that the PCSECT and CSECT programmes were recognised under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (QF) as meeting the accreditation standards at QF Level 4 (at the same level of an Associate Degree or a Higher Diploma) and QF Level 3 (at the same level of a Diploma) respectively. Upon completion of the programmes, graduates will be awarded the QF-recognised certificates at respective levels accordingly. With the successful accreditation of the above-mentioned training programmes, the Department has reached a new milestone in the professionalisation of staff training and development.

To further enhance staff capability in dealing with emergency situations, training on Tai Chi Safe Defensive Techniques 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 2 516 staff received such training in 2016. 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 252 staff of local law enforcement agencies and the Macao Prison.

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 360 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 organised by the Department, HKU SPACE and an overseas university, has been held since 2011. A total of 50 Advanced Diploma graduates have enrolled the Bachelor of Arts course. 30 have completed the course with the obtainment of the degree.

In addition, six kinds of language including Punjabi, Nepalese, Vietnamese, Urdu, Indonesian and Spanish were organised 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 2016.

To strengthen the analytical competence and communication and presentation skill of our senior officers, STI had invited a local consultant firm to organise a Public Speaking and Critical Thinking Workshop in March 2016. Also, STI worked in collaboration with the Knowledge Management and Innovation Research Centre of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for providing four classes of two-day training on Knowledge Management (KM) to our staff in the year.

KM development has taken a leap to a new milestone. In this year, ”Knowledge Management Steering Committee” led by Deputy Commissioner is established to formulate strategic plan and steer direction for KM development in CSD. A three-tier KM architecture has been adopted to capture and share job related knowledge in different levels from institutional/unit. Other enhancement projects including video streaming function and a new discussion forum namely “Knowledge Cocktail” to provide a common platform for knowledge sharing among selected staff members on correctional issues have been launched. In addition, a new “e-Learning Platform System” to facilitate staff learning via CSD Intranet, Internet and mobile Apps has been put in place.

In striving for continuous improvement and professionalism in correctional work, CSD appointed university scholars, professionals and retired government officials as Honorary Advisors (HA) of STI for providing professional advice on the training programme and development of STI. By the end of December 2016, 11 HAs have been appointed.

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 650 mentors guiding 2 085 mentees. A “Best Mentor” Award Scheme was launched in March 2016 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.

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 2016, the Museum received 413 visiting groups with 46 816 visitors including the ”Appreciation; Passion; My Hong Kong” event held in March 2016, in which secondary school students and the public were invited to visit the Museum not only to enhance their understanding and development of CSD.

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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 throughout 2016 to solicit staff views on special matters such as review of five-day work week, quartering policy, implementation of final extension of civil service and post-retirement service contract scheme, etc.

The Staff Relations and Welfare Unit coordinates all matters relating to staff welfare. The Unit administers the Correctional Services Department Welfare Fund and the Correctional Services Department Central Fund. The former supports amenities for staff and provides loans and grants for serving and retired staff. The latter provides 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 2016, over $1.14 million was granted to 200 recipients. The Oi Kwan Education Scholarship founded by the Correctional Services Department Staff Club granted over $0.143 million scholarship in 2016 to 35 staff who successfully enhanced their qualifications and 10 children of our staff with outstanding academic results. In 2016, the Correctional Services Department Staff Club established the “Si Li Ji Ren Foundation” aiming at awarding children of staff with achievements in various aspects by sponsoring them to participate in exchange programmes in the Mainland. The foundation selected and sponsored 14 children of our staff for a four-day exchange programme in the Mainland held in July 2016. Through the exchange programme, the participants deepened their understanding on the economic development of the Mainland and experienced the life and education environmentof children living in rural areas.

The Correctional Services Department Sports Association organises sports and recreation activities for staff of the Department. The Association’ s work is an essential part of our drive to promote a healthy and balanced lifestyle among staff and cultivate their esprit de corps. During the year, the Annual Sports Meet, Swimming Gala, 10km 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 Correctional Services Department Pipe Band was newly formed in 2016 to provide another option of musical activities for our staff.

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 2015-16, 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 Department also encourages staff to give a helping hand by cooperating with the Red Cross to organise regular blood donation activities at institutions. In 2016, the Department was presented the Special Merit Award by the Hong Kong Red Cross.

The Oi Kwan Volunteer Group Limited (OKVGL) further prospers in terms of its membership and service hours. In 2016, 22 352 service hours of voluntary work were provided by 3 570 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 2016, the OKVGL also provided Life planning and Life Education programmes for young people and ethnic minorities through various volunteer activities to enhance their social mobility and promote social inclusion. On May 2016 “Caring Organisation Logo” was first presented to OKVGL by the Hong Kong Council of Social Services to encourage and recognise their commitment and efforts of in caring for the community, staff and environment.

Clinical Psychologists (Staff Services) continue providing professional psychological services to staff and their families with parallel services including psychotherapy, psycho-education materials and relaxation facilities, etc. The Staff Psychological Services (SPS) renders training to new recruits and serving staff on stress management and various psychological topics applied in work setting.

In 2016, the SPS continued to adopt Dandelion as the ambassador of the Optimism and Care Project, 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. Two leaflets on internet addiction and adjustment to the new recruits are produced and, two animated movies namely “The beauty in the eyes of children” and “Glasses of happiness” have been uploaded to the website to promote resilience. Besides, the bi-monthly Book Recommendation activity continued to be launched to promote living wisdom via reading.

Starting from April 2016, relaxation element has been integrated into all refresher courses. It was hoped that more staff could learn the relaxation technique to sooth their life and work stress. In this year, the SPS has also rendered stress management training to members of the newly established “Regional Response Team” to equip them the necessary psychological quality.

To commemorate the 15th anniversary of SPS, a booklet has been produced to review the past and explore the way forward.

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

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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. A total of 218 Integrity Ambassadors were appointed. Together with the establishment of institutional “Integrity Management Team” ,ethical culture could be further reinforced and sustained at institutional level. Anti-corruption talks held by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) have been arranged as integrity training for all CSD staff within a specific cycle in the hope to further strengthen the importance of integrity management.

With a view to improving the conditions of service, a task group was appointed to further study the feasibility of implementing the related proposal, such as identifying suitable disciplined work posts for migration to five-day work week, leave deduction arrangement for staff not subject 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 implemented.

To increase the supply of married quarters for junior staff, the Department secured funding of $256 millions in July 2016 with endorsement of the Legislative Council for construction of staff quarters’ project in Tin Wan, Aberdeen. In addition to the staff quarters’ project in Kwun Tong, these two projects were commenced in 2016 and anticipated completion date would be in 2019 to provide more than 100 units of married quarters for junior staff.

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Professional Exchange

CSD continues to strengthen professional ties with Mainland counterparts. In 2016, CSD delegations visited respective Prison Administration Bureau in Fujian Province, Shandong Province, Gansu Province and Chongqing 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 (ICPA), The United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI), 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 and Consultation

The Legal Research Unit coordinates legal consulting work when legal issues with departmental-wide implication arise. The Unit is also responsible for establishing and managing a centralised legal advice database in the departmental Knowledge Management System to provide colleagues with access to reference materials and legal advices for self-enhancement and work skills improvement.

In the year, the Unit coordinated with other tertiary institutions and invited professionals to provide legal training for our colleagues on “Being a Prosecuting Officer for the Principal Officers” so as to enhance their professional knowledge at work.

The Unit also assists subject Divisions in liaising with government counsels and brief-out counsels to handle cases of judicial review filed by the applicants against the decisions or policies of the Department. In the year, it rendered assistance in the formulation of departmental policies e.g. hair cut of persons in custody and disciplinary proceedings against staff.

Hong Kong Correctional Services Annual Review 2016