Appendix A
Hong Kong Government
Terms of Reference for Mr. Bent Werbell
Consultant on Drug Abuse Statistics
Having regard to the need to obtain, for overall planning purposes, more dependable information on the number and characteristics of persons in Hong Kong addicted to drugs, and on the effectiveness of Hong Kong's treatment, rehabilita- tion, and prevention services, you are to examine the statistics currently produced by all Government departments and voluntary agencies engaged in anti-narcotics work, and in particular the Central Register of Drug Addicts, and the means by which they are collected and processed,
with a view to :
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
ensuring a greater accuracy of reporting of the addict population, so that the assessment of trends in the nature of addiction in Hong Kong, as well as the numbers involved, can be determined more precisely;
devising effective means of matching reports on addicts, based on identifying information, and to advise on programming with a view to eliminating duplicated records and to achieving better data linkage for subsequent analysis;
determining the feasibility and the cost of converting the existing data in the Central Register to the more effective system envisaged in (b) above;
evolving efficient ways of monitoring the impact of local treatment and prevention efforts,
thereafter, to report to the Secretary for Security on the most cost-effective means of achieving these aims.
Government Secretariat,
Hong Kong.
29th November, 1975