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Traffic
PUBLIC ORDER
During the year 14.4 miles of road were laid, bringing the total to 651.7, an increase of 2.26 per cent. With 193,439 vehicles registered at the end of 1974, traffic density on the roads was 296.82 vehicles per mile. At the end of 1973 there were 202,775 vehicles giving a traffic density of 318.19 vehicles per mile.
The fixed penalty system was introduced in 1971, and a total of 509,085 tickets were issued during 1974. Of these 88 per cent (432,000) were paid without appear- ance in court. Of the 106,137 cases which went to court, 74,064 were subsequently convicted, 36 dismissed and the remainder withdrawn. There is recourse in law to apply for a court order to seize the offending vehicle if the debt is not paid; the number of applications for court orders made so far is 342, and 46 vehicles have been seized.
Road safety activities during the year consisted of two campaigns. The first was directed at pedestrians, reminding them of the advice given by the 'crossing code' introduced at the end of 1973. The second was aimed at both pedestrians and motorists, the latter being encouraged particularly to drive defensively. The Standing Conference on Road Safety, which was established in 1973, continued to hold reg- ular meetings and co-ordinate road safety activities throughout Hong Kong.
Administration
Mr B. F. Slevin was appointed Commissioner of Police on January 15, 1974 succeeding Mr C. P. Sutcliffe who retired after 14 years service.
During the year, five projects in the police building programme were completed. These included new sub-divisional stations at Chai Wan and Stanley, an additional block at Kowloon City Divisional Station, extra accommodation at Tsim Sha Tsui Station and improvements to frontier posts. Additionally, phase one of Kowloon District Headquarters was completed.
At the end of the year, there were 52 projects in the police building programme, none having been added during 1974. The construction of North Point and Kwai Chung divisional stations and additional accommodation at the Police Training School were well advanced. Piling and site formation was completed in a number of other projects.
The planning and research division of Police Headquarters completed a number of major projects during the year, including the completion of a study on force computer requirements and a number of examinations of procedures designed to ensure effective deployment of resources in specific areas. Work also began on the force long term development plan.
Women Police
The year was one of changing concept, experiment and expansion. A direct result of this has been the increasing number of policewomen being sought for opera- tional roles in the Criminal Investigation Department and other specialist branches and formations.