TIP assessment: designation of cases & reasons for refusal
Dear Security Bureau,
1. The exact process whereby TIP cases are assigned to the respective screening teams. In other words, in deterining which office is best placed to assess a TIP claim, do the Police, Immigration Department, Labour Department, and C&E Department review the facts and take the case based on their respective expertise? Or capacity? Or is the allocation of cases made at random? Also, can claimants make requests to be screened by a particular office?
2. What were the reasons for both succesful and unsuccesful TIP assessments in 2020 and Q1 of 2021 respectively? Were reasons given? If reasons were given, what were the reasons (we respect the privacy of the claimant and confidential nature of the question - and would be grateful for 'categorical' answers). If reasons were not given, why not?
3. Are there channels for an unsuccesful TIP victims to review or appeal their decision? If so, how?
4. Out of the number of succesful and unsuccesful TIP assessments in 2020 and Q1 of 2021 respectively, how many were referred to the Department of Justice for opinion/advice?
Yours faithfully,
Charlie
Dear Charlie,
Your application for Access to Information has been received. The
application is now under processing. We will get back to you as soon as
possible.
Yours sincerely,
Oliver Lam
(for Secretary for Security)
Tel: 2810 2327
From: Charlie Yeung <[FOI #653 email]>
To: FOI requests at Security Bureau <[Security Bureau request email]>,
Date: 16/05/2021 21:08
Subject: Freedom of Information request - TIP assessment:
designation of cases & reasons for refusal
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Dear Security Bureau,
1. The exact process whereby TIP cases are assigned to the respective
screening teams. In other words, in deterining which office is best placed
to assess a TIP claim, do the Police, Immigration Department, Labour
Department, and C&E Department review the facts and take the case based on
their respective expertise? Or capacity? Or is the allocation of cases
made at random? Also, can claimants make requests to be screened by a
particular office?
2. What were the reasons for both succesful and unsuccesful TIP
assessments in 2020 and Q1 of 2021 respectively? Were reasons given? If
reasons were given, what were the reasons (we respect the privacy of the
claimant and confidential nature of the question - and would be grateful
for 'categorical' answers). If reasons were not given, why not?
3. Are there channels for an unsuccesful TIP victims to review or appeal
their decision? If so, how?
4. Out of the number of succesful and unsuccesful TIP assessments in 2020
and Q1 of 2021 respectively, how many were referred to the Department of
Justice for opinion/advice?
Yours faithfully,
Charlie
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Dear Charlie,
Under the current mechanism, for all persons who may be vulnerable to
exploitation (including foreign domestic helpers (FDHs), non-local
arrestees such as sex workers, illegal immigrants, etc.) and came across
by the Hong Kong Police Force (Police), Immigration Department (ImmD), or
Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), a structured trafficking in persons
(TIP) screening would be conducted by the respective department to ensure
that potential TIP victims are effectively and efficiently identified.
When a case requires investigation by more than one department, the
Inter-departmental Joint Investigation Team, with Police, C&ED, ImmD and
Labour Department (LD) as standing members, would coordinate a joint
investigation as appropriate.
Since December 2019, LD also implemented an initial screening mechanism at
its branch offices of the Labour Relations Division to identify at an
early stage FDHs and other vulnerable persons who might potentially be
more prone to exploitation or abuse, and to refer those possibly facing
greater dangers (e.g. being physically abused) to relevant law enforcement
agencies for conducting full debriefing and follow-up investigation as
early as possible. In addition, as a proactive approach in identifying
FDHs potentially being exploited, ImmD has set up a dedicated team in
December 2019 to step up the checking of records on all FDH visa
applications. Initial screening would be conducted on applicable entry
visa and post-entry visa applications of FDH, with a view to identifying
potential TIP victims and or those FDHs who are prone to exploitation at
an early stage.
We would like to reiterate that the TIP victim screening is not simply a
questionnaire-filling or an application procedure, but a crucial part of
an investigative process. As you may understand, whether a person is
identified as a TIP victim depends on the facts of individual cases and
various reasons. While all our frontline officers in Police, ImmD, C&ED
and LD are well trained to identify and handle TIP cases, the persons
concerned would be invited to provide as much information to facilitate
their screening/ as possible, since the screening result rely very much on
the information provided. Screening result in general will not be
provided if the person is not identified as a TIP victim, but the relevant
information could be made available upon enquiry. In case the person
concerned has new/additional information to provide, relevant departments
shall review the case accordingly.
We do not maintain a breakdown of other information or figures requested
in your e-mail.
Yours sincerely,
Oliver Lam
(for Secretary for Security)
Tel: 2810 2327
From: SB-AIOREQ/SB/HKSARG
To: Charlie Yeung <[FOI #653 email]>,
Date: 25/05/2021 08:53
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - TIP assessment:
designation of cases & reasons for refusal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Charlie,
Your application for Access to Information has been received. The
application is now under processing. We will get back to you as soon as
possible.
Yours sincerely,
Oliver Lam
(for Secretary for Security)
Tel: 2810 2327
From: Charlie Yeung <[FOI #653 email]>
To: FOI requests at Security Bureau <[Security Bureau request email]>,
Date: 16/05/2021 21:08
Subject: Freedom of Information request - TIP assessment:
designation of cases & reasons for refusal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Security Bureau,
1. The exact process whereby TIP cases are assigned to the respective
screening teams. In other words, in deterining which office is best placed
to assess a TIP claim, do the Police, Immigration Department, Labour
Department, and C&E Department review the facts and take the case based on
their respective expertise? Or capacity? Or is the allocation of cases
made at random? Also, can claimants make requests to be screened by a
particular office?
2. What were the reasons for both succesful and unsuccesful TIP
assessments in 2020 and Q1 of 2021 respectively? Were reasons given? If
reasons were given, what were the reasons (we respect the privacy of the
claimant and confidential nature of the question - and would be grateful
for 'categorical' answers). If reasons were not given, why not?
3. Are there channels for an unsuccesful TIP victims to review or appeal
their decision? If so, how?
4. Out of the number of succesful and unsuccesful TIP assessments in 2020
and Q1 of 2021 respectively, how many were referred to the Department of
Justice for opinion/advice?
Yours faithfully,
Charlie
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a request under the Code of Access to Information facilitated via
the accessinfo.hk website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #653 email]
Is [Security Bureau request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests
to Security Bureau? If so, please contact us using this form:
[1]https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[2]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...
2. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers
