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PUBLIC ORDER
December, was visited by 52 620 pupils at 69 secondary schools; the opening of another five JPC district clubhouses; production of a 30-minute film drama entitled There's No Glamour in Crime; and the staging of Fight Youth Crime promotions in all police districts.
By the end of the year the effort and imagination put into the campaign had already started to pay off, with a reduction in the number of young men involved in crime. During the second half of the year prosecutions of males aged between 14 and 20 dropped by 269, or 0.93 per cent, compared with the same period the previous year.
Preparatory work started on the Help the Police Fight Youth Crime competition which will be launched early in 1984. The six winners will visit Holland and the United Kingdom in July 1984.
Another 124 members of the public who actively assisted the police in bringing criminals to justice - helping to keep citizen arrest figures at the commendable level of 12.9 per cent of all arrests received cash awards totalling $190,500 through the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce Good Citizen Award Scheme.
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By the end of the year, the number of criminals arrested as a direct result of calls made to the Police Hotline, associated with the weekly Police 15 and Police Report television programmes, rose to 592. In addition, callers provided 2 632 items of useful information to the police. The fourth in the drama-documentary series On the Beat, produced by Radio Television Hong Kong and the police, was shown on both Chinese television channels and attracted audiences in excess of two million.
During the year, the Police Public Relations Branch newsroom was strengthened to increase its capability to cover major incidents involving the police and in promoting a better working relationship with the press. It provides a 24-hour information and enquiry service. Its staff dealt with a monthly average of 8 296 press enquiries and 966 public enquiries; and issued a monthly average of 316 traffic bulletins and 177 press releases covering all aspects of police work. The branch also prepared articles for overseas use and arranged press conferences, background briefings and interviews.
The special tourist hotline, set up in 1981 to help tourists with language difficulties, continued to be well used. The hotline is manned round-the-clock by police officers fluent in English, Chinese and Japanese.
Recruitment and Personnel
By the end of 1983, the establishment of the force was 24 211, an increase of 734 over 1982. In addition, 5 224 civilians were employed, representing 21.6 per cent of the overall establishment.
The number of applications to join the force rose to 12 049, compared with 9 868 in 1982. Of these, 1 515 applicants, including 61 women, were recruited as constables. On average, about 25 per cent of the recruit constables under training are academically qualified for the inspectorate at the time of joining the Police Training School. The 202 officers appointed to the inspectorate came from three major sources: 58 local applicants appointed directly, 67 officers promoted from the junior ranks, and 77 recruited from overseas, principally from the United Kingdom.
Training
Facilities at the Police Training School in Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, which provides basic training for the inspectorate, junor officers and traffic wardens, are being expanded to meet increasing needs. Recruit inspectors undergo a 36-week course and recruit constables a 22-week course which covers criminal law, social studies, police and court procedures,