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LCQ16: Police's equipment
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     Following is a question by Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, in the Legislative Council today (November 12):

Question:

     It was reported in the press on October 28 this year that the Police had purchased arms totalling 1.4 billion pounds from the United Kingdom (UK) since 2008.  Regarding the Police's purchase and use etc. of arms, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the countries other than UK from which the Police purchased arms in the past five years, and the criteria for choosing suppliers of arms;

(2) of the quantity, expenditure involved, closing inventory and usage of the various types of arms purchased by the Police each year from 2010 till the end of October this year, and set out such information in tables of the same format as Table 1;

Table 1
Year¡G____________

Type¡@¡@¡@   Quantity  Expenditure Closing   Usage
of           purchased involved    inventory
arms           
----         --------- ---------- ---------- -----
A) Sniper
   rifle
B) Assault
   rifle
C) Machine
   gun
D) Rifle
E) Semi-
   automatic
   pistol
F) General
   purpose
   machine
   gun
G) Submachine
   gun
H) Tear gas
   round

(3) of the respective specific criteria adopted by the Police for deciding the purchase quantity and inventory level of the arms mentioned in (2);

(4) of the guidelines issued by the Police to police officers on the use of the arms mentioned in (2), and the lowest ranks of the police officers who are authorised to approve the use of such arms respectively, and set out such information in Table 2;

Table 2
Type of arms          Guidelines   Lowest rank of
                      on the use   police officers
                      of arms      authorised to
                                   approve the  
                                   use of arms
-----                 ---------    --------------
A) Sniper rifle
B) Assault rifle
C) Machine gun
D) Rifle
E) Semi-automatic
   pistol
F) General purpose
   machine gun
G) Submachine gun
H) Tear gas round

(5) of the specific occasions on which police officers used the arms mentioned in (2) in the past five years and the respective casualties inflicted by the use of such arms, and set out such information in Table 3;

Table 3
Type of arms           Specific         Casualties
                       occasions on     inflicted
                       which arms
                       were used
------------           ------------     ----------
A) Sniper rifle
B) Assault rifle
C) Machine gun
D) Rifle
E) Semi-automatic
   pistol
F) General purpose
   machine gun
G) Submachine gun
H) Tear gas round

(6) of the details of the complaints received by the Police in the past five years about police officers' use of the arms mentioned in (2), including (i) the number of complaints, (ii) the number of cases substantiated among these complaints, (iii) the number of police officers involved, and (iv) the number of police officers who were disciplined for misuse of arms, and set out such information in Table 4; and

Table 4
Type of arms           (i)    (ii)    (iii)   (iv)
-------------          ----   -----   -----   ---
A) Sniper rifle
B) Assault rifle
C) Machine gun
D) Rifle
E) Semi-automatic
   pistol
F) General purpose
   machine gun
G) Submachine gun
H) Tear gas round

(7) whether the Police will review the guidelines or codes on the use of arms to ensure that the arms mentioned in (2) will not be abused as well as to reduce the casualties inflicted by the use of such arms; if they will, of the timetable?

Reply:

President,

     The Administration's reply to Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki's question is as follows:

(1) to (3) The Police procure suitable equipment for operational needs. In accordance with the established Government procurement procedures, the Police invite tenders through appropriate tender process.  All tenders are subject to detailed assessment against a marking scheme, under which the one meeting all the requirements with the highest mark will be accepted.

     Details, expenditure breakdown, purchase quantity, inventory level and utilisation rate with respect to the Police's procurement of various types of weapon are not to be disclosed as such data are part of particulars of their operational deployment.

(4) According to section 10 of the Police Force Ordinance (Cap 232), the Police have the responsibility to adopt lawful measures to maintain public safety and public order, as well as to safeguard life and property.  On occasions where an act causing danger to others is occurring or is about to occur, the Police shall assess the circumstances on the scene and exercise professional judgment for appropriate actions, which include using the minimum force required.

     There are strict Police guidelines for the use of force in that the force to be used shall be the minimum force necessary for achieving a lawful purpose.  The equipment issued to police officers of different posts, including different types of arms, varies with operational needs.  Field commanders shall, having made a professional assessment and judgment of the force that should be used, decide on the appropriate force to be used in the light of the overall circumstances and operational needs at the material time.  Before using force, Police officers shall, when circumstances permit, give warning of their intention to use force.  The person(s) involved shall be given every opportunity, whenever practicable, to obey police orders.  Police officers exercise a high level of restraint at all times in the use of force, which shall cease once the purpose has been achieved.

(5) According to Police records, in the past five years, some of the arms mentioned in Table 3 of the question were used by the Police in two operations, namely an arrest operation in Kai Ching Estate, Kowloon Bay on June 1, 2014 and an anti-theft-of-vehicle operation in Tuen Mun on July 10, 2010.  No casualties were inflicted by the firing of bullets from the arms used in these two operations.

     When handling the violent and organised charging launched by a large number of protesters on Hong Kong Island on September 28, 2014, the Police used oleoresin capsicum (OC) foam to stop the protesters' violent acts as Police's repeated advice and warnings were given in vain.  On that day, quite a number of protesters were equipped with such gear as goggles, face masks, umbrellas and cling film for eye and body protection, rendering the use of OC foam not being able to achieve the effect of counteracting the charging of the crowd.  To prevent the situation from getting further out of control, the Police had no alternative but to use tear gas to put an immediate halt to the violent charging acts staged by the protesters, to create a safe distance from the protesters and to stop any acts that might threaten public safety and public order.

(6) The Police do not maintain statistics on complaint cases about the use of arms by police officers.  

     As at November 10, Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) received complaints from a total of 1 362 members of the public about Police's handling of "Occupy Central".  These complaints are now being processed. CAPO shall handle the allegations in a fair and impartial manner under the established procedures, and shall submit investigation reports on reportable complaints to the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) for examination in accordance with the statutory requirements under the IPCC Ordinance.

(7) The Police shall review in a timely manner their training and guidelines on the use of force to ensure police officers' safe and effective discharge of duties.

Ends/Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:28

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