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PUBLIC ORDER
Thirty-two holiday homes and recreation centres, situated at scenic spots, were also available to members of the force.
In accordance with the policy to house adequately all married junior police officers, a total of 54 units were purchased by the government in 1985, for allocation to junior police officers. This brought to 1 914 the total number of quarters available for allocation to such officers. In addition, 198 new units will become available in 1986. Demand for quarters by local inspectors remained strong although additional quarters continued to be provided by the government during the year.
Police Cadet School
Since its formation in 1973, enrolment at the Police Cadet School has progressively increased from its original 150 to its present 750. During its 12 years of operation, 2 796 cadets have graduated. Among them, 2 552 joined the police, 39 entered the Fire Services Department, 74 opted for the Customs and Excise Department and 45 joined the Correctional Services Department.
Buildings and Development
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Detailed planning for the first phase of the development of a new Police Headquarters within the existing headquarters complex has proceeded steadily. Construction work also began on six new police stations at Lo Wu, Castle Peak, Siu Lek Yuen, Tai Po, Tsing Yi and Tin Sum in the New Territories. All are expected to become operational by mid-1987. Work on the new Marine Police Base in Aberdeen progressed satisfactorily while planning of a further three Marine bases and the Marine Regional Headquarters reached an advanced stage.
Construction was also nearing completion on a project to provide interim accommoda- tion for the Police Tactical Unit at the New Territories Depot, Fanling, to enable a new depot with improved accommodation and training facilities to be provided at the unit's existing site at Volunteer Slopes, Fanling. As the year ended, the first phase of a project to refurbish older police stations was nearing completion and work on the second phase, involving five stations, was about to commence.
Communications
The Communications Branch designs, procures, installs and maintains communications systems and equipment for the force. The extensive reorganisation and development of the branch continued during 1985 and included an increase in the engineering and support staff necessary to cope with the growing demand for more efficient and economic communications.
During the year, the branch successfully replaced the force teleprinter network with Datanet, which is one of the most modern message switching systems available. The existing Computer Assisted Command and Control System (CACCS) was also refurbished to enable it to function until 1989 when it will be replaced by the Enhanced Computer Assisted Command and Control System (ECACCS).
A number of projects were embarked upon to improve and extend the 'beat radio' system. These include the installation of a communications system for policing the MTR Island Line, the reorganisation of radio communications on Cheung Chau and an extension of the beat radio scheme to built-up areas in the New Territories.
Of considerable importance is the development of a strategy to integrate most of the existing radio networks and control systems over the next five years.
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