11
Public Order
THE YEAR 1979 was an unusually busy one for Hong Kong's law enforcement agencies as they swung into action to surmount new obstacles and to combat a wide range of problems. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force has the chief responsibility for maintaining law and order throughout the territory. However, major contributions towards the general welfare and safety of the community are also made by the Fire Services Department, the Prisons Department, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Customs and Excise Service.
Police Force
The Royal Hong Kong Police Force worked under great pressure in 1979 when it was necessary to redeploy some of its resources to cope with the influx of Vietnamese refugees and illegal immigrants from China.
Most Vietnamese refugees arriving in Hong Kong came in small, overcrowded and dilapidated fishing junks; others were brought by ocean-going vessels. A sinister aspect of this development was the organisation by racketeers of ocean-going freighters which picked up grossly excessive numbers of refugees in or near Vietnamese waters. At the same time, illegal immigrants from China were also attempting to cross into Hong Kong. Nearly 2,000 illegal immigrants were arrested in January and these numbers swelled tō 14,430 in May and 11,884 in June. To counter this problem, additional police were deployed to the perimeter of Hong Kong and a special anti-illegal immigration control centre was set up in police headquarters. British military forces in Hong Kong were called upon to provide increased support.
One of the police force's major projects during the year was the establishment and equip- ping of the new Mass Transit Railway Division. The division has a communications system which encompasses the entire railway, including moving trains, and interfaces with the force's communications network. Plans are in hand to expand and consolidate radio coverage when the Mass Transit Railway is extended to Tsuen Wan, and to enlarge the command and control centre. The division, manned by some 150 police officers and civilians, is part of Kowloon Police District.
In the New Territories District, the opening of Sheung Kwai Chung Sub-Divisional Station in 1978 and Tuen Mun Divisional Station in 1979 enabled an improved police service to be provided in these areas. In addition, Sha Tin and Frontier Divisional Headquarters at Fanling moved to new and more efficient buildings during the year.
During 1979, an extensive building programme was approved to expand facilities at the Police Training School at Aberdeen to cater for increased recruit and in-service training. In an effort to meet the need for housing by junior married police officers, 800 quarters were completed at Sha Tin and Ho Man Tin.
To keep abreast with residential development in Hong Kong, 13 new police reporting