LAW, ORDER AND RECORDS
195
tourists who are visiting the Colony, it is desirable that non- commissioned officers and constables have at least an elementary knowledge of it. The Education Department provides teachers for the Police Force English Classes which have been successful; 3,500 non-commissioned officers and constables now speak at least some English.
Communications and Transport. All motor vehicles and all forms of communication are the responsibility of the Communica- tions and Transport Branch, which is controlled from Colony Headquarters. The Force has a network of 590 radio stations linking Colony Headquarters with the territorial district head- quarters, districts with divisions, and divisions with stations and posts. There are also direct links with mobile units, marine craft, foot patrols equipped with pack sets, and helicopters.
The extensive re-organization of the Force communications system was completed when the '999' telephone system was de- centralized. Each district now has its own 'nerve' centre for day- to-day operations as well as for emergency functions, and controls radio cars which patrol districts throughout the day and night. These cars are available to answer any calls received over the ‘999' telephone system. A teleprinter system is operated from a central transmitter at Colony Headquarters with 20 receiver stations in the main police stations. The Force now has an establishment of 397 motor vehicles and cycles, ranging from armoured cars to mobile canteens.
Traffic. 7,592 new vehicles were registered during the year bringing the total number of registered vehicles to 48,890, a figure almost double that of six years ago. As most vehicles use the 275 miles of road in the urban areas the density of traffic poses ever increasing problems of control over movement and parking, prob- lems which the Colony shares with many other big cities in the world.
In order to keep a free and uninterrupted flow of traffic at all times, parking on streets, particularly the main arteries, has had to be eliminated or considerably reduced over the years. As a result, the central district of Victoria, for example, has parking space for some 1,000 cars only. There are plans to build a third multi-storey car park to house 700 cars by the end of 1961 and similar building may follow in subsequent years. But bearing in