INCIDENTS
An operations room in action.
Against this colourful backdrop, however, there are sordid over-tones. In many parts of the city, particularly in Kowloon where two million people live, there is considerable overcrowding with its inevitable squalor and dirt. Here, the contrast between rich and poor is very marked.
Many of the people who live in the suburbs. and shanty towns are newcomers to city life. Their problems of adjustment are often complicated by unemployment or the fact that they speak a different Chinese dialect than their neighbours.
to
Working in this environment police need
use constant tact and understanding, especially Probationary Inspectors, who are frequently called on to handle matters that would never concern them in other lands.
The restless energy of Hong Kong means that the pace of police work rarely slackens, even by night. Many shops stay open until mid-night, bars and cabarets until 1 a.m. and
2 a.m.
Hong Kong, for many years, was the great entrepôt of the East, but this traditional role was lost when the Communists took over China and trade embargoes during the Korean War made the Colony's future look bleak.
But, with amazing resilience, the people of Hong Kong pooled their financial resources and laid the foundation of today's industrial economy. Factories sprang up and thrived, export markets were found and developed and the Colony emerged as an industrial centre to be reckoned with.
Police Organisation
The commander of the Hong Kong Police Force is the Commissioner of Police. He is assisted by a Deputy Commissioner. At Police Headquarters, the operational and administrative staff consists of а Senior Assistant Commissioner, an Assistant Com- missioner, an Administrative Secretary, a Chief Superintendent and three Senior Superin- tendents, who are in charge of branches staffed by Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Inspectors and civilian officers.
The Assistant Commissioner (Operations and Training) also commands the Police Training School, the Police Training Con- tingent, the Communications and Transport Branch and the Auxiliaries. Each of these is under the direction of a Senior Superintendent.
The Colony is divided into four districts: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories and Marine. All but Kowloon are commanded by Assistant Commissioners.
Kowloon, which is headed by a Senior Assistant Commissioner, is divided into two sub-districts, each under a Chief Superin- tendent.
The Criminal Investigation Department and the Special Branch are under the command of Senior Assistant Commissioners.
Each Police District is sub-divided into Divisions under the command of a Divi- sional Superintendent.
The Anti-Corruption Branch and Traffic Branch are commanded by Chief Superin- tendents.
The Force has an establishment of 11,140 all ranks, including 430 Women Police. They are supported by 1,711 civilian staff.
The Police Force is responsible for the internal security of the Colony. It is trained to operate as a civil force normally and, if necessary, as a para-military body.
To cope with the growth of the Force and to improve its effectiveness a big building programme is under way. Many old stations are being replaced and some areas, where no station exists, will have new ones.
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