ENG-2003 — Page 417

PUBLIC ORDER

training programmes organised by reputable academic institutions and training bodies in Hong Kong.

In an effort to broaden the horizon of staff and keep them abreast of contemporary correctional issues, overseas training and visits are arranged regularly. For example, the department has been sending suitable officers of middle and senior ranks to attend exchange programmes and attachment training at Correctional Services Canada since 2001.

Visiting Justices

Each penal institution is visited by Justices of the Peace fortnightly or monthly, depending on the type of institutions. The Justices of the Peace receive and investigate complaints from prisoners, inspects diets and examine living and working conditions.

Complaints

The Complaints Investigation Unit is responsible for handling and investigating complaints in relation to the department's work. All investigation reports are subject to the scrutiny of the Correctional Services Department Complaints Committee chaired by the department's Civil Secretary. This unit acquired the ISO 9001:2000 Certificate in August 2002 for its complaints handling services.

Inmates may also lodge complaints with visiting senior officers or utilise other channels for redress of grievances, such as by making complaints to visiting Justices of the Peace, The Ombudsman and Legislative Councillors.

Drug Abuse and Trafficking

The Government is committed to reducing both the supply of and the demand for illicit drugs through a wide range of action and programmes. It is also committed to reducing the prevalence and incidence of drug abuse by adopting a multi-modality approach in the provision of treatment and rehabilitation services for drug abusers and dissuading people, in particular the young, from taking or experimenting with drugs.

Overall Strategy and Coordination

In combating drug trafficking and abuse, the Government adopts a five-pronged approach which covers legislation and law enforcement, preventive education and publicity, treatment and rehabilitation, research, and international cooperation.

Effective law enforcement curtails illicit drug supply and also ensures compulsory treatment for many who are convicted of an offence and have a drug dependency. A wide range of treatment and rehabilitation services is provided to meet the changing drug abuse trends and varying needs of drug abusers from different backgrounds.

Preventive education and publicity programmes are organised on a territory-wide basis and at district level to increase public awareness of the harm caused by drug abuse and to encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Research studies are conducted on various aspects of the drug abuse problem and the evidence-based findings facilitate the planning and launching of suitable anti-drug strategies and programmes. Cooperation at the international level, through exchanges of information and experience as well as joint action against illicit trafficking, enhances the effectiveness of efforts in all these areas.

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