PUBLIC ORDER
Role and Responsibilities
Its main role is to support government departments in tackling emergency situations. Volunteers are trained to perform duties during tropical cyclones, landslips and flooding; to search for, and rescue, people trapped in collapsed buildings; to fight forest fires and patrol country parks; to manage refugee camps; to combat oil pollution at sea; to carry out crowd control duties and to perform mountain rescue operations. Adult volunteers help to organise and provide crowd control, com- munications and marshalling services at charity fund-raising activities, government campaign events and other public functions. On any weekend or public holiday, it is normal for over 500 volunteers and cadets to be on duty.
Vietnamese Migrant Duties
Since 1975, the CAS has been involved in refugee management. Last year, it continued to manage the New Horizons Vietnamese Refugee Departure Centre (for Vietnamese refugees accepted for resettlement overseas) and the Kai Tak Vietnamese Migrant Transit Centre (for Vietnamese migrants awaiting voluntary repatriation to Vietnam, and pregnant Vietnamese women and their accompanying relatives from other detention centres).
These duties were physically and psychologically demanding and were performed under difficult conditions. A great deal of dedication and patience was displayed by the permanent staff and volunteers involved.
Service Training
The CAS provides full-time and part-time training to its volunteers to equip and prepare them for their operational tasks. The training syllabus covers a wide variety of subjects including counter-disaster skills, fire-fighting, anti-oil pollution and, flood rescue operations, radiological protection, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and con- ventional rescue instruction. In 1995, 189 full-time courses and 94 part-time courses were conducted.
During the year, the CAS sent permanent staff and volunteer officers overseas for mountain rescue training and disaster management courses. In August, a delegation of senior officers visited Singapore's Civil Defence Organisation to study its management techniques, exchange views and widen their experience.
Cadet Corps
The Cadet Corps is the CAS youth wing. In 1995, it established two new units in New Territories north and New Territories west, making an overall total of 23 all-male units, five all-female units and four mixed units.
Cadets were recruited from the 12-to-15 age group, and were provided with recreational activities and a wide range of discipline and skills training including foot drill, casualty handling and rescue, basic mechanical and electrical engineering, canoe-building and fibreglass moulding, printing and book-binding, carpentry and interior design. They were also trained in countryside preservation, crowd control, rock climbing, orienteering and expeditions. Cadets over 14 years old were encouraged to perform rural area patrolling, crowd control and community services.
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