It is clear that prison population levels and overcrowding are the predominant concern of prison administrators in the Asian and Pacific region. Since rates of imprisonment do not necessarily decline even if crime rates fall, we can anticipate that overcrowding will remain the central concern for many years to come. Across the region, there also seem to be some common pressure points. These include female prisoners and remand prisoners - both groups growing at a faster rate than the total prison population. However, whilst prison administrators will continue to face considerable difficulties as a result of these trends, there are some positive developments.
All jurisdictions appear to be effectively meeting the core functions of custody and control.
There are also some very positive developments with respect to international standards, benchmarking and offender management.