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being encouraged by extreme elements in the night.
24. With regard to the future I am concerned about both ICAC and the Police Force. Starting with ICAC, the important thing is that the enormous amount of ground gained should not be lost. This means that the Police must submit to ICAC operations and that the strength of ICAC must be maintained to monitor the activities of the Police and public services and ensure that there is no backsliding, and also of course deal in one way or another with those excluded from the amnesty.
I am For the time sure it is fully capable of doing this. being it still has a very heavy caseload so thereis
The Police are no question of a fall-off in morale. reporting for interview regularly, six were charged on November 18. It is most important that the public should see that there is no let-up.
25. The problem of the Police is much more complex. The performance of the force has vastly improved under Brian Slevin. It has halted and turned back crime, totally changed its deployment tactics and relations with the public, and in fact has become a completely new sort of force. All this has given it new professional confidence and much better standing with the public. Even during the height of the troubles the Police did
But the force appears some spectacular anti-crime work.
to be schizophrenic. Operational efficiency and discipline give an impression of one of the best Police Forces in the world. But quite obviously there is a mental malaise with deeply seated and unsatisfactory attitudes and mental reserves on the part of many of the
I am not concerned older officers, NCOs and other ranks. so much about those recruited in the last four years who are of a much higher standard of education, untainted by corruption, and not so affected by the many-
The last two weeks sided changes imposed on the Force.
The
have brought home to me with something of a shock how different a Police Force, even a para-military Force like that in Hong Kong, is to a regiment. relationship between officers and men is totally different. The officers feel no responsibility for their men off duty and feel no obligation to get to know them and their problems in the way a regimental officer would. The same thing applies to the relationship between senior and junior officers. is a particular problem here because the force is so enormous, that the personal relationships that emerge in a smaller force are lacking. Moreover generalities of
In spite the sort I have made are full of exceptions.
There
of the apparent unanimity in the Force there were many
The members acutely unhappy at what was happening. whole picture is so complex and obscure that it calls
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/ for