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as enlisting public support in the maintenance of law and order via a proactive community relations programme.
Police Community Relations Officers attached to different districts work closely with representatives from government departments and organisations to keep the public well informed of police policies and operational priorities.
During the year, the Secondary School Liaison Officers Programme and the Junior Police Call (JPC) Scheme continued to serve as bridges between the police and youngsters. Membership of the JPC scheme stood at 140 482 at the end of 2004.
In conjunction with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), the Police Force produces two weekly television programmes, the 30-minute Police Magazine in Cantonese and the five-minute Police Report in English, to keep the public abreast of prevalent crime trends and to appeal for information that will assist the police in investigations of crimes.
Police Magazine continued to enjoy high ratings while enhancing cooperation between the Police Force and the community. In early 2004, with the support and assistance of the Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau, a series of episodes on cross-boundary crime prevention was broadcast. The series aimed to enhance the public awareness about prevailing crime trends in Shenzhen. Other useful information, including the telephone numbers for different emergency services in the Mainland, was also provided to the public.
To enhance public knowledge and understanding of police work, a radio programme jointly produced by the police and Metro Broadcast Corporation Limited was broadcast from April to August 2004. Police officers from 16 formations shared their working experiences and memorable stories with the audience on a weekly basis.
The programme Missing Persons Unit, jointly produced by PPRB and Television. Broadcasts Limited in 2004, was broadcast right after the drama Without A Trace from January to June to appeal for information on missing persons from the audience. It yielded fruitful results with the location of two missing persons based on information provided by the audience. The second series of 24 episodes of the programme was launched in November.
Information relating to police activities is disseminated to local and overseas media organisations round-the-clock. During the year, information officers handled 314 444 media enquiries, issued 1 664 press releases, organised 126 press conferences and briefings and assisted media coverage at 69 serious crime scenes and other incidents.
The PPRB also worked closely with the Information Services Department and other government departments, as well as the Fight Crime Committee, in planning and implementing the Fight Crime Publicity Campaign 2004-05 with the theme 'Help Police Fight Crime'.