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VISIT OF LORD FERRERS TO HONG KONG: 3-8 JANUARY 1992
The Royal Hong Kong Police Force: current concerns
Reference
Annual review of the force 1990
The Royal Hong Kong Police Force is a substantial force comprising some 26,000 disciplined staff and 5,000
1.
civilians. It has a reputation for efficiency, good
discipline and integrity.
currently not very high, primarily because of concerns
related to 1997.
However, morale in the service is
officials
<
2. There is concern amongst all civil servants about their
future post-1997 but this is perhaps most acutely felt in
the Police. Some officers, particularly the older ones, are
worried that there may be recriminations against officers
who took part in putting down the mainland inspired riots in
1967 and who may have been involved in prosecutions involving mainland Chinese. Reassurances by senior Chinese
most recently Mr Lu Ping the head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office under the State Council
do not seem to have much effect. Adding to the forces
problems has been a drop in recruitment. The force is
currently approximately 1,000 men under strength. This
seems to have been the result of two main factors: first the
very tight labour situation in Hong Kong in general, which
has meant that there are more attractive jobs in the private
sector; and second some concern about entering the Police
Force after the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989. In
recent months, however, recruitment seems to have picked up
again as the tight labour situation has eased and as
memories of 1989 fade.
3.
There is some dissatisfaction amongst the four Police
Staff Associations with the leadership within the force. They feel that the leadership are not presenting their case
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