THE COURTS, POLICE, PRISONS AND RECORDS
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wireless telegraphy, teleprinters, telephones, sound recording equipment and radar stations are the responsibility of the branch. A main workshop and two subsidiary workshops are provided for the installation, maintenance and repair of all communications equipment.
Almost all new equipment approved by the Government for the reorganization of Police communications has been ordered and a considerable quantity has already been installed.
At present the Force has a total of 590 radio stations arranged to link Headquarters with Districts, Districts with Divisions, and Divisions with Stations, Posts and Launches. There are also direct links with patrol cars and foot patrols equipped with pack sets. Facilities are also provided for direct communication between Districts and two helicopters, and also between Marine Police launches and Service aircraft.
During the year a helicopter was used to rescue a Police Constable with an injured leg who was lying in a position to which other means of approach would have been extremely difficult.
During 1959 a total of 14,593 telephone calls necessitating Police action were received at the Control Room, Colony Headquarters. Of that number, 9,982 were received through the '999' Emergency system. Police action taken as a result of these calls resulted in the arrest of 1,357 persons.
The Force now has a strength of 379 motor vehicles of all kinds. The total mileage run by those vehicles during the year was 4,314,709 and the accident rate was one per every 19,176 miles travelled. This includes many accidents of a very trivial nature.
Traffic. The traffic problems of Hong Kong are similar to those of any major city, but are accentuated by extraordinary pedestrian density, many pedestrians having little experience of motor traffic. The problem is aggravated by the continued increase in the number of vehicles on roads of inadequate widths and this has led to increased congestion in central areas. The most pressing problem is that of parking, and intensified building development is now producing parking problems in areas where they did not previously exist. To alleviate the situation 300 parking meters were installed