The Ministry of Justice has recruited seven psychologists in the first step to build an experts bank providing advice on better management of prisons.

Zhang Enyou, a psychologist who is also vice president of the Central Institute for Correctional Police, and six other experts are employed by the ministry, the Legal Daily reported on Monday.

Chen Xunqiu, vice minister of Justice, said his ministry is continuing to look for law, penologists, education and medical experts for the bank.

Statistics available showed that by 2005 China had more than 1.8 million inmates, the second largest prisoner population next to the United States.

According to a development program recently issued by the ministry, professionals in law, penology, education, psychology, medical science, information engineering and medicine should account for 70 percent of the administrative staff of prisons and correctional facilities.

Among them, professionals in psychology should account for at least eight percent.

The seven psychologists will be asked to set up standards on correctional work in prisons and help train warders, the newspaper said.

"The emphasis on the psychological side is part of our efforts to introduce personalized correctional work for different prisoners on the basis of their psychological analyses," Chen said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 17, 2007)