PUBLIC ORDER
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To commend people's initiatives in helping in the fight against crime, the Police Force held two Good Citizen Award Scheme ceremonies in June and December, with sponsorship from the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.
Information relating to police activities is disseminated to local and overseas media organisations round-the-clock. During the year, officers seconded from the Information Services Department (ISD) handled 290 468 media enquiries, issued 3 445 press releases, organised 321 press conferences and briefings and assisted medial coverage at 235 serious crime scenes and other incidents.
Information Officers at PPRB also worked closely with their counterparts in the ISD and representatives from other government departments as well as the Fight Crime Committee in planning and implementing the Fight Crime Publicity Campaign 2003-04 which had two themes, namely, 'anti-street deception' and 'anti-miscellaneous theft'.
To further publicise police-related information effectively, the PPRB continued to update the contents and improve the presentation of force publications, including the biweekly newspaper OffBeat, the JPC monthly newsletter and the Police in Figures leaflet. The Police Review 2002 won an Honourable Mention in the 2003 Best Annual Report Awards organised by the Hong Kong Management Association.
Planning and Development
The Police Force is about to complete a large-scale building programme, spearheaded by the construction of a new Police Headquarters which is scheduled for completion. in April 2004. The headquarters complex will also accommodate the force's Central District Headquarters and the Central Division Police Station. This development will be a state-of-the-art complex equipped with modern technology and designed to be operationally and energy efficient.
Other major building projects include a new Police Dog Unit and Force Search Unit complex at Sha Ling, New Territories, which was completed in October 2003. A new Police Post at Penny's Bay on Lantau Island is scheduled for completion in late 2004.
Also being constructed is a new purpose-built Regional Police Headquarters and Operational Base for the New Territories South Region at Tsuen Wan due for completion in late 2005. The building of a new Marine Police Outer Waters District and North Division Base at Ma Liu Shui is expected to be completed in early 2006. In conjunction with the expansion of Hong Kong's road and rail infrastructure and the construction of new control points to cater for the increasing cross-boundary traffic, facilities are being provided for the policing of the areas concerned. Construction works on the relevant facilities started in June and August and are due for completion in 2005-06.
The force-wide Station Improvement Project ended in mid-year. Enhancement works have revamped the public interface areas of all police stations into comfortable, clean and user-friendly facilities. This project benefits both the staff working in the stations and the members of the public who enter them. The Automated Station Security System was introduced to enhance the security of police stations while achieving manpower savings. The system was fully implemented in December.