Justices of the Peace conducted 843 visits to 118 institutions in 2004, including prisons, public hospitals and welfare institutions.

According to the 2004 annual report on JP visits published today, each non-official JP conducts 1.5 visits per annum on average, while each official JP conducts four visits a year.

Last year 547 complaints/requests/enquiries were made to visiting JPs. About 92% were followed up by the institutions concerned and reported to JPs within a month.

A total of 325 suggestions were made by JPs in 2004 and all have been followed up by the institutions concerned.