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Public Order
Civil Aid Service
The Civil Aid Service (CAS) is a government auxiliary emergency service, established under the Civil Aid Service Ordinance. It has an establishment of 3,634 adult members, 3,232 cadets and 103 civil servants and in 2012 the CAS celebrated its 60th anniversary.
CAS members are trained to perform duties during various emergency situations such as typhoons, flooding and landslides. In 2012, CAS members were mobilised for five rescue operations during tropical cyclones and floods, 74 mountain search and rescue operations, and 38 vegetation fire-fighting operations. The CAS provided emergency standby manpower during the passage of Typhoons Doksuri, Vicente and Kai Tak in June, July and August 2012 respectively. After Typhoon Vicente, the CAS helped clean up plastic pellets scattered on shorelines and beaches from a spill.
In April, over 500 CAS personnel participated in a government-wide exercise to test the Daya Bay Contingency plan and in September over 1,500 CAS members were deployed in crowd management for the Legislative Council Election.
The CAS endeavours to develop leadership potential and cultivate civic and national awareness among young people by recruiting those aged 12 to 17 into the CAS Cadet Corps. Besides participating in recreational activities, CAS cadets are taught various disciplines and skills, including foot drill, basic emergency rescue, crowd management, first aid and rock climbing.
Government Flying Service
The Government Flying Service (GFS) is a disciplined service department. It provides a wide range of flying services, including round-the-clock search and rescue coverage, casualty and medical evacuation, fire fighting and support for law enforcement agencies and other government departments.
The GFS has an establishment of 170 disciplined and 57 civilian staff, and operates a fleet of three fixed-wing aeroplanes and seven helicopters. In 2012, it flew a total of 6,021 hours, assisted in 492 search and rescue operations and transported 1,871 people to hospitals by helicopter. It also flew 9,909 government officers and official visitors in the course of their duties or programmes. In addition, auxiliary flying doctors and nurses flew a total of 470 hours in 658 operations.
Websites
Security Bureau: www.sb.gov.hk (links to Disciplined Services) Independent Commission Against Corruption: www.icac.org.hk Commissioner on Interception of Communications and Surveillance: www.sciocs.gov.hk
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