NCJ Number
99342
Editor(s)
J Sandy,
M Johnson
Date Published
1984
Length
169 pages
Annotation
These proceedings cover a conference held in July 1984, when representatives of 17 Asian and Pacific nations met to discuss 5 aspects of corrections.
Abstract
The five topics were the use of technology in prisons, the role of volunteers in inmate programs, problems of physically and mentally handicapped inmates, the methods used to monitor crime and other incidents in prisons, and the definition of recidivism. The nations represented were Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, and Western Samoa. The use of technology was found to vary widely across the region, although no correlation was found between the level of technology and the levels of either security or containment. The need to focus on the relationship between technical efficiency and basic human relationships was noted, as was the value of improved communications, information systems, and routine aids to recordkeeping. The need to carefully organize and monitor the use of volunteers was emphasized, and increasing requirements for services for mentally and physically handicapped offenders were predicted. The conference endorsed a common definition of recidivism to indicate a person has been convicted and has been to prison. Topics approved for the next meeting, reports on each conference topic from each nation, welcoming remarks, and a list of participants are included.