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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1980
CHIEF JUSTICE OPENS CORRECTIONAL ADMINISTRATORS' CONFERENCE
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THE CHIEF JUSTICE, SIR DENYS ROBERTS, TODAY (MONDAY) OFFICIALLY OPENED THE FIRST ASIAN AND PACIFIC CONFERENCE OF CORRECTION AL ADMINISTRATORS AT A CEREMONY HELD IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
DELEGATES FROM 14 TERRITORIES ARE ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE. THEY ARE FROM AUSTRALIA, INDONESIA, JAPAN, MACAU, MALAYSIA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, THE PHILIPPINES, SINGAPORE, SRI LANKA, THAILAND, TONGA, WESTERN SAMOA, HONG KONG AND CANADA.
THE FIVE-DAY CONFERENCE IS ORGANISED BY THE PRISONS DEPARTMENT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF CRIMINOLOGY WHICH IS ALSO REPRESENTED IN THE CONFERENCE.
THE PURPOSE OF THE CONFERENCE IS TO CONSIDER AND DISCUSS COMMON PROBLEMS AMONG CORRECTIONAL ADMINISTRATORS IN THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC REGION. IT IS ALSO AIMED AT PREPARING FOR THE SIXTH UNITED NATIONS CONGRESS ON THE PREVENTION OF CRIME AND THE TREATMENT OF OFFENDERS SCHEDULED TO BE HELD IN CARACAS, VENEZUELA LATER THIS YEAR.
SPEAKING AT THE OPENING CEREMONY, SIR DENYS SAID THE WORK OF A PRISON OFFICER WAS WIDE AND VARIED.
HE SAID, +1 DO NOT KNOW IF OUR EXPERIENCE IN HONG KONG IS TYPICAL OR NOT, BUT WE HAVE FOUND, IN RECENT YEARS, EMPLOYMENT OF NOVEL KINDS FOR OUR PRISON ADMINISTRATORS.+
SIR DENYS SAID DURING THE PAST YEAR, THE PRISONS DEPARTMENT HAD ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR RUNNING CAMPS IN WHICH THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES HAD BEEN GIVEN TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION, BETWEEN THEIR ARRIVAL IN HONG KONG AND THEIR DEPARTURE FOR NEW HOMES ELSEWHERE.
+THE DISCIPLINED FIRMNESS, AND SENSE OF ORDER AND FAIRNESS, PRISON OFFICERS HAS PROVED INVALUABLE IN THE CARRYING OUT OF THIS UNUSUAL TASK, HE SAID.
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SOME TIME AGO SIR DENYS WENT ON, PRISON OFFICERS WERE HANDED THE TASK OF DEALING WITH THE TREATMENT OF DRUG ADDICTS.
HE SAID, INSTEAD OF SENDING ADDICTS TO ORDINARY PENAL INSTITUTIONS. AS HAD BEEN THE PREVIOUS PRACTICE. THE COURTS WERE GIVEN POWER TO SEND THEM TO SPECIAL TREATMENT CENTRES, RUN BY PRISON OFFICERS, WHERE THEY REMAIN FOR LONG ENOUGH TO GIVE THEIR BODIES A REASONABLE CHANCE TO OVERCOME THE ADDICTIVE GRIP OF THE DRUG.+
+THE SUCCESS OF THIS EXPERIMENT HAS BEEN BEYOND THE MOST OPTIMISTIC PREDICTIONS MADE WHEN IT WAS LAUNCHED, HE ADDED.
SIR DENYS NOTED THAT THERE WAS A SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCE IN THE PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARDS CRIME AND ITS TREATMENT IN THE EAST, AS COMPARED WITH THE WEST,
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