Security fears over inmates voting
The Correctional Services Department has raised security and manpower concerns ahead of a public consultation, due to begin this month, on prisoners voting in elections.
The ban on inmate voting was quashed in a landmark ruling by a High Court judge in December, and the government sought a 10-month period to sort out the practical arrangements.
Three suggestions have been raised about locations where inmates might vote: escorting them to cast votes at polling stations allocated for their registered addresses; setting up polling stations in prisons; and postal voting. The public consultation begins this month, and the required legislation is expected to be completed before September.
A senior department source said the first option was the least preferable, saying it would exhaust prison manpower. It could mean transferring prisoners to and from different polling stations at various times during the polling day, and each of them would have to be escorted by officers.
Commissioner of Correctional Services Kwok Leung-ming said his department would not state a preference among the options now, but noted that all three involved security concerns. 'Any of the three options will pose extra manpower demands,' he said. 'We are also concerned whether there are any security risks or impacts to the public if inmates are let out of the prisons.'
Yesterday, Mr Kwok said overcrowding in prisons had eased last year, with an average of 10,510 inmates in 11,072 penal places, compared to 11,176 prisoners in 11,288 places in 2007.
The Tai Lam Centre for Women, a maximum security institution, was among the most crowded prisons last year, holding 167 per cent of its capacity of 263 inmates.
Mr Kwok added that former inmates were not heavily affected by the economic downturn, and a large proportion still managed to find jobs after they left prison.
'Most of them participate in the logistics, transport or other sectors that require semi-skilled workers,' he said.
The department this month merged the industrial and vocational training sections, and inmates can now gain public-accredited qualifications - including mechanical engineering and electrical installation. Such vocational training will probably make former inmates more employable, the department says.
About 850 seats in full-time and part-time vocational training programmes will be offered to inmates in the coming year.
