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10.
However, the Commissioner has directed that a 'Review Committee on Force Consultative Arrangements" be set up under the chairmanship of Mr Lomas to review the Force's present consultative arrangements - including, not only the Police Force Council, but also the Senior Consultative Committee and the Junior Consultative Committee. The Review Committee has since held three preliminary meetings and a consultative document is in the final stages of preparation. It is anticipated that copies of the consultative document will be passed to the four Police Staff Associations for their consideration. To this extent, therefore, there is some expectation that discussions will once again resume between Force Management and the Staff Side over the future of the Police Force Council.
Force Morale
11. It is, of course, impossible to generalize on the state of morale in an organisation as large as the Royal Hong Kong Police Force comprising, as it does, 26,508 Police officers. If pressed to do so, however, I would say that professionally the Force is working well and producing good results. However, there are concerns as I have already mentioned and overall I would say morale is fair and not at a low or very low level as sometimes claimed by the Police Staff Associations. Morale in some formations, particularly those where job satisfaction is high or where there is a particularly able leader in command, is undoubtedly high and, where the opposite pertains, it is undoubtedly low. The morale of certain individual officers is low and many senior-in-service junior Police officers and Superintendents are unhappy (some are very unhappy) with their current pay scales. Expatriate officers and also local officers with financial commitments in the United Kingdom are particularly concerned with the current Hong Kong Dollar to Sterling Exchange rate (HK$15.30).
Positive Factors
12. Force Management is, of course, fully aware of the problems I have mentioned and is endeavouring to resolve those that are within its domain and to press the Hong Kong Government and, indeed, the United Kingdom Government for priority to be given to determining the remainder. And I would like to mention some areas where there have been, or are likely to be, positive results :-