PUBLIC ORDER
274
to other government departments, termination of their service, completion of contract or dismissal.
Welfare
The Personnel Services Branch (PSB) provides a wide range of support services for Force members and their families. During the year, PSB staff conducted 4 603 casework interviews and made 7 446 visits to sick and injured officers in hospital or at their homes.
Family life education continued to play an important part in the welfare programme, with emphasis on good parental guidance to the children. The branch has also pursued an initiative in promoting a healthy life style and family values amongst members of the Force.
Psychological services, including professional counselling and education, were provided to Police officers, civilian staff and their immediate family members to help them cope with the high level of stress associated with Police work and in events of personal or emotional difficulties. Critical incident stress debriefing services were available to officers involved in difficult or dangerous operations such as the Garley Building fire disaster.
Other services included support groups for officers and their family members and stress management training to new recruits. A recent, successful project was the provision of conflict management training to officers to enhance their efficacy in handling potential conflict situations.
The branch's Police Catering Division continued to monitor canteens in Police formations with emphasis on hygiene and the provision of nutritious and value- for-money food. The division arranged the supply of 10 000 meals to officers on operational duties in the field during the Handover Ceremony. It also provided catering support for Police officers during the WB/IMF Annual Meetings.
The Police Welfare Fund has been the major source of finance for all welfare activities within the Force. In all, 1 634 children of regular and Auxiliary Police officers were awarded bursaries from the two Police Education Trusts to help them further their education.
Force Housing
The implementation of the policy to provide housing for all eligible married local Police officers of the rank of Superintendent and below continued. The Force now manages 12 514 departmental quarters, of which 11 608 are for Junior Police Officers and 683 are for Inspectorate officers.
Three new quarters projects in Wong Tai Sin, Ngau Chi Wan and Chai Wan were completed in mid-1997. They provided 1 237 high-quality quarters, replacing 534 very old Junior Police Officers quarters at sites on Hollywood Road and Canton Road. Proposals to build 1 171 quarters in Tung Chung, Tuen Mun and West Kowloon Reclamation are at the planning stage.
Older quarters continued to be upgraded under a programme to refurbish some 4 500 married quarters for Junior Police Officers. Since the introduction of the scheme in 1987, 1874 quarters have been refurbished, significantly improving structural conditions and standards.