PART I
GENERAL REPORT AND SURVEY OF THE YEAR
INTRODUCTION
MANY of the problems confronting the Hong Kong Police Force are peculiar to Hong Kong itself and are caused substantially by the type of society which has evolved here since the end of the Second World War. The population of the Colony is now more than 3 million and unless there are any radical changes in the rate of natural increase and immigra- tion it will approach 4 million in 1966. Economic circumstances over the past years have enabled Hong Kong to provide all these people with a living of some kind, ranging from the simplest of meals and shelter provided by many welfare agencies, to life in the most modern form of accommodation. This wide range of living standards is characteristic of present day Hong Kong and is manifested on the one hand by the busy harbour and commercial houses, the ever-flowing passage of new cars, and the modern hotels; on the other hand, there are the many thousands who spend long hours at manual work, at every conceivable form of labour from match-box making to ship-breaking, from delicate embroidery to the construction of sailing cruisers. This vast hinterland of activity is as responsible for Hong Kong's current prosperity as are the more obvious forms of tourism, trade and industry.
2. Apart from a few specialized units the Hong Kong Police Force deploys the conventional branches to police the Colony and its concen- trated population. Of these the Uniformed Branch come into closest and widest contact with the people. It is the Police Constable on his beat who represents the Force to an overwhelming majority of Hong Kong's population. On him and the staff of the Report Rooms in Police Stations the general reputation of the Force depends. But more important than reputation is public confidence, for if the vast majority of people living in Hong Kong were to lose confidence in the forces of law and order, the consequences would be appalling. Emphasis has therefore continued to be placed on Police-Public relations. Examples of this are the close contact maintained with the Kai Fong Welfare Advancement Associa- tions, schools and other groups, and a series of parties given by all Ranks of the Force for under-privileged children at Chinese New Year.
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