LAW, ORDER AND RECORDS
203
1949 and the end of 1962 the establishment of the Hong Kong Police rose from 3,852 to 8,593; during this period the uniformed branch comprised about two-thirds of the total.
In general terms the uniformed branch is responsible for main- taining law and order throughout the territory of the Colony. To achieve this the territory is divided into three police districts: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. The New Territories District also has responsibility for policing territorial waters and all islands lying within them. Three assistant commis- sioners in charge of these districts exercise their command through police divisions, which are themselves divided into sub-divisions and post areas.
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Beat patrols are an essential feature of the duties of the uniformed branch within the 12 divisional organizations compris- ing the territorial commands of the force, for the presence of a constable on patrol is a proven deterrent to would-be criminals. The situations which confront the constable are many and various and to some extent depend on the neighbourhood. Many beats are rural by nature; some are among squatter huts; others are in very crowded tenement or resettlement areas; others again are in the business districts. Each has its peculiar police problems. The officer on a rural beat has to be self-reliant because many situa- tions occur where immediate assistance is not available; in the city centre he has to deal with the problems of a concentrated commercial community; in the resettlement estate the nature of his work ranges from child welfare to the frustrating of petty crime and violence. Wherever he is, a uniformed branch officer on beat duty is required to take immediate action to deal with traffic acci- dents, serious crime or any other situation. As soon as possible he hands over to officers of the appropriate branch, but until help arrives the uniformed man must know how to handle the problem. In addition to the varied nature of beat duties, his work has other aspects. The officer on beat duty is also a channel through which 'intelligence' of interest to the police force as a whole is passed back to his division. From there the information is passed to district headquarters or to the appropriate branch.
To support the man on beat duty each district operates mobile patrols known as emergency units. These units are part of the uniformed branch and each consists of some 175 men operating