Junior Police Call membership is very popular, with more than 7,600 members. Thirty-three of these JPC members are participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and a currently undergoing training at Fanling Depot to qualify for the scheme's Bronze Award.
Sha Tin Division
Sha Tin Division comprises Tai Po and Sha Tin sub-divisions and the area policed includes the outlying islands of Tap Mun and Ping Chau in Mirs Bay. Following the recent re-adjustment of the divisional boundary, the northern part of Sai Kung Peninsula was transferred to Wong Tai Sin Division.
While still a rural division, development of Sha Tin New Town, the Tai Po light industrial area and the building of the Jockey Club race track in Sha Tin is beginning to change this image. The Lek Yuen housing estate has been completed and now houses 16,385 people. The first phase of the second housing estate (Wo Che) has been completed and has 6,432 residents. When phases two and three are completed in December 1978 and March 1979 it is expected to house 48,866 people.
A Neighbourhood Policing Unit has been planned to police this large housing estate and an NPU is already in operation in Lek Yuen Estate.
The second Lion Rock Tunnel, linking North Kowloon with Sha Tin, is scheduled to be opened for use in January 1978 when the existing tunnel will have to be temporarily closed for renovation. Major road works along the Tai Po Road, designed to further improve communication between Kowloon and Sha Tin, are well underway and are expected to be completed before the opening of the Sha Tin Race Course in September 1978.
In addition to the urbanisation, tens of thousands of people visit Tai Po and Sha Tin, particularly on holidays and weekends. These visitors are expected to increase with the improved communications and on 'race day' and will naturally require additional police attention.
The building of the new Sha Tin Divisional Head- quarters in Sha Tin is on schedule and is due to be ready for occupation in July 1978. In Tai Po, work will commence on the Tai Yuen Housing Estate in October 1978. The estimated population when completed will be about 50,000. It is hoped that this will be completed in early 1980.
The reclamation for the Tai Po Industrial Estate has been divided into three stages. Stage one is near comple- tion while stage two is expected to start later this year. Stage three of the reclamation is still on the planning board.
The Yue Kok temporary housing area in Ting Kok Road, Tai Po, will be used to house 5,000 squatters, mainly from the floating squatter area known as Yuen Chau Chai near Tai Po Causeway. This causeway will be cleared in order to make way for the construction of the New Ter- ritories Trunk Road. Clearance commenced in December and is planned to be completed in mid-1978.
At present, about 20 per cent of the central area of Tai Po has been developed. Many multi-storey buildings have been completed and redevelopment of the existing town is expected to continue. Major engineering works include reclamation for construction of a new Central Market and the building of new roads to link with other developing
areas.
One of the things Princess Alexandra learned during her visit to the Police Cadet School – that Chinese chess is not easy.
Traffic
The New Territories is by no means immune from the traffic problems experienced elsewhere in Hong Kong although they are often of a different nature.
Apart from congestion occurring in urban areas during peak hours, control problems are caused by the thousands of visitors to beaches in the west during the summer months, and the equal numbers who flock to scenic areas mainly in the east in cooler weather. The control problems should ease in the west as a result of the opening of the Tuen Mun Road in early 1978 and in the east when the new road system through Sha Tin is completed.
Cyclists are a particular problem especially along Ting Kok Road in Tai Po. With hundreds of inexperienced and mostly young cyclists, mainly on hired machines, riding (or more often, falling off) there is a major preoc- cupation of motorists using the road. In the absence of legal powers to control the hiring of bicycles, the main effort to reduce the hazard is directed at education and, as a last resort, enforcement action against offending riders. Traffic problems increase during the numerous annual festivals. During the year, large crowds attended the dragon boat races at Tai Po and Tuen Mun, visited temples, attended the Tin Hau festival in Yuen Long and visited the graves of ancestors during the Ching Ming and Chung Yeung festivals.
In coping with these many and complex problems, a heavy burden was placed on traffic officers, and it is a
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