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(5) Public participation: Mutual Aid Committees, etc.
61.
In the enforcement of law and order in recent years Mutual
Aid Committees, District and aree Committees and Kaifong Associations
have played vital roles. But they have done much more than help to
turn the tables on crime and litter. They are neighbourhood associations
which are active over increasingly wide fields, they are major points
of contact and reference for the Government, they are a significant
development in our society, both for the practical results they achieve,
and for the opportunity they offer to many people to participate in
neighbourhood affairs in a way not open to them previously.
therefore be both helped and used.
62.
They must
There are now over 2,500 MACS actively involved in furthering
the interests of some 2 million residents. They have been working
closely with the Home Affairs Department and New Territories Administration.
The number of new ACs planned for this financial year is 600 of which
about half have already been formed. To organiss, advise and support
them the staff of Home Affairs Department has been increased by 12
Liaison Officers and some 60 Community Organisers.
/(6) Provision