PUBLIC ORDER
a specially-equipped room in March. The results of the experiment, the first in Hong Kong, are encouraging so far.
The department is also in the process of computerising its data and this is expected to be fully operational in 1992.
Corruption Prevention
The Corruption Prevention Department reviews procedures which could be conducive to corruption in government departments and in public bodies, and recommends changes where necessary. Free confidential advice is also available to private organisations or individuals on request.
During the year, the department conducted 65 detailed examinations of specific activities of government departments and public bodies, covering policy, law, procedures and management controls. Problems identified ranged from those which caught the inter- national spotlight to those which were confined to a small voluntary welfare agency.
The studies conducted could be broadly classified into two categories, people-related and work-related. Major studies under the first category included those on Vietnamese boat people, narcotics and the Judiciary. With the large number of Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong and the need to establish whether they were genuine refugees or not, the department advised on safeguards against abuses of the screening system. It also work- ed closely with the Correctional Services Department on procedures to ensure the safe- keeping of-property belonging to boat people. On the worldwide problem of narcotics, the department worked closely with the Customs and Excise Department to ensure that procedures for checking imports for the presence of any narcotics were as secure as possible. As a result of detailed studies and liaison with the Judiciary, additional senior posts were created to help strengthen the day-to-day administrative support services for the courts. With the co-operation of the legal professional bodies to prevent touting, the public at large were provided with greater publicity about court procedures and how to obtain legal representation.
The second category of studies ranged from work-oriented projects to financial control systems. Work projects covered subjects like control of building development, supervision of construction works, building of New Territories small houses, control of unauthorised structures, and approval of water supply. The finance-related studies examined systems such as the operations of the government central tender board, the control of subventions granted to both large and small social welfare agencies, and ex-gratia payments under the Kowloon Walled City clearance scheme and under the waste control scheme. Relatively smaller financial systems which affect the daily life of the public were not overlooked and the procedures for collecting bus fares and controlling admission to the Ocean Park were also examined.
The department had been closely involved in a number of environmental protection programmes that gathered momentum during the year. A major concern was that there should be a reasonable legislative framework to enable enforcement officers to operate effectively with minimum opportunities for corrupt approaches. Where compensation was payable to people affected by these programmes, the department worked closely with the government to ensure that only those genuinely affected were paid.
In response to an increasing number of requests for assistance from the private sector, the department's Advisory Services Group organised corruption prevention seminars for management, and studied areas of concern to companies, covering such matters as purchasing and stock control. The group also assisted companies to draw up guidelines for
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