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The Hong Kong Police Force has continued to enforce the law after the Handover in exactly the same way as before: fairly, impartially and professionally, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Eddie Hui Ki-on, said.

In his Foreword in the Police Review 1997 published today (Wednesday), Mr Hui noted that many people were concerned at the beginning of 1997 about how Hong Kong would be policed after the transfer of sovereignty.

Three particular issues continually raised were whether public demonstrations would be stopped, whether the Handover would affect policing and whether there would be an exodus of senior officers from the Force.

Regarding public demonstrations and the effect of the Handover on policing, Mr Hui referred to his undertaking made before the Handover that the way Hong Kong would be policed would not change on its return to the People's Republic of China.

"I believe that it is fair to say that I have not been proven wrong," Mr Hui said, adding that it had been business as usual.

Similarly, the concern that police officers in senior ranks would leave the service prior to the transfer of sovereignty had proven to be unfounded, the Commissioner said.

In 1997, only 156 officers left the Force under Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service package.

"The vast majority of our expatriate officers remained committed to Hong Kong and the Force, with 402 remaining in the Force at the end of 1997.

"Nevertheless, the need for succession planning had been anticipated and measures implemented to identify and train suitable officers to succeed those departing.

"As a result, career opportunities in 1997 were good with a total of 285 senior rank promotions," Mr Hui said.

Turing to the crime situation, the Commissioner noted that the overall crime rate for 1997 followed the downward trend of the past few years and reached its lowest level in 24 years.

"In comparison with 1996, the overall number of crimes recorded dropped by 15 per cent and for the fourth consecutive year, there was a marked decrease in burglaries and robberies, down by 17 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.

"Even more pleasing was the 61 per cent drop in the number of bank, watch and gold shop robberies.

"Added to this, our detection rate of 51.4 per cent compares favourably with other densely populated cities world-wide," he said.

Mr Hui pointed out that the Force was very much aware of the public's concern about police misconduct and corruption.

He stressed that the approach of the Force throughout 1997 had been and would continue to be one of zero tolerance to all forms of police malpractice and corruption.

Mr Hui said the Force's commitment to serving the people of Hong Kong openly was vigorously promoted throughout 1997.

Three areas in particular deserved to be highlighted were the enhancement of the Complaints Against Police Office, improvements to police report rooms and public opinion surveys.

Mr Hui stressed that despite the successes enjoyed in 1997, there was no room for complacency.

"Policing requires the support and trust of the public, and the level of this support is proportional to our ability to police Hong Kong effectively.

"We will continue to pursue initiatives aimed at improving the management of the Force and how we police Hong Kong.

"Key areas include working in partnership with the community to prevent crime, providing the public with a high quality of service, improving communications within the Force and with the public and living the values we have publicly declared to hold," he said.

The Police Review 1997 is a bilingual full-colour publication comprising two volumes.

The 48-page volume 1, entitled "A Year of Transition," features a summary report highlighting the major activities of the Force in 1997, particularly the Handover and the World Bank/International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings. The photographic section contains a large collection of photographs capturing the memorable events in the past year.

The 100-page volume 2, "Organisation and Statistics," details the myriad of activities of the various police departments for the year under review. It also contains clear information on the organisation of the Force and a wealth of statistics for in-depth study.

The Review will be put inside a time capsule at a ceremony on May 15 at the Chek Lap Kok airport to mark the completion of government facilities there.

Police Report No.3

Issued by PPRB

End/Wednesday, May 13, 1998 (BY)

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