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PUBLIC ORDER
Buildings and Development Approval was obtained during the year for a time-table to construct more than 40 new police buildings over the next five years. The building programme included district and sub-divisional stations which will be constructed in association with the development of new towns. In addition, a programme for the provision of 3 500 junior police officers married quarters was also proposed. Construction of quarters of an improved design will start in 1982 and extend over a period of three to four years.
Other on-going projects included the expansion of the Police Training School, the modernisation of older police stations, improvements to existing canteens and messes and the installation of fitness training rooms at police stations. A site had been set aside on the Wan Chai waterfront for a new force headquarters which, when completed in 1987, will accommodate the existing headquarters, the headquarters regional, Hong Kong Island district headquarters and Wan Chai divisional police stations.
During the year, a divisional station at Tuen Mun and a sub-divisional station at Discovery Bay on Lantau Island were completed and opened. Construction also started on new police stations at Tsim Sha Tsui, Sau Mau Ping, the airport, and Lo Wu.
The Communications and Transport Branch manages a fleet of 1 607 vehicles, com- prising 1 081 four-wheel vehicles and 526 motorcycles, and is responsible for the provision, maintenance and development of a highly sophisticated communications network for the force.
In order to improve the working environment of officers engaged in patrol duties over long periods, in hot and humid conditions, large air-conditioned patrol cars were acquired. The first of these cars were allocated to Traffic/Hong Kong Island, Traffic/New Territories and Emergency Unit/Hong Kong Island in June 1981.
Replacement of obsolete radio equipment on the Traffic Branch, Special Branch and Internal Security networks is now nearing completion. The work involved the movement of the network in the frequency spectrum, expansion of the network and an extension in the radio coverage. This is on the same scale as provision of a completely new and extensive network covering the entire territory. The system engineering design was developed on a consultancy basis with an equipment supplier.
The shortage of professional engineering staff and the fact that the currently installed systems are becoming congested and overloaded has been a matter of concern. To meet these problems before they become a limiting factor in force activities, a telecommunica- tions consultancy firm was appointed to plan and engineer UHF radio facilities based on a requirement to extend the Beat Radio system throughout the territory. The consultancy is expected to last three to five years and the results of the consultants studies will determine the shape of force radio communications for the future.
A project, by two Royal Navy officers, to provide a joint Police-Armed Services Radio Communications Network for all maritime forces in Hong Kong, with a capability to reach service aircraft and military units, continues on schedule.
Continued co-ordinated efforts between the Mass Transit Railway Corporation and the force consultants have ensured that command and control facilities and police radio communications within the Mass Transit Railway Corporation premises have been provided in step with the extension of railway service.
Complaints Against Police Office
During the year a pamphlet describing how members of the public can register complaints about police procedures or misconduct by police officers through the Complaints Against