small this may be. To this end most families seek to supplement the husband's earnings and to attain their ultimate goal of material in- dependence by putting as many members of the family as possible out to work. All this makes for a highly competitive society whose members are often so concerned with their struggle to improve their own lot that they feel they cannot waste time or sentiment on the needs of other people, particularly if those needs conflict with their own interests. Coupling this competitive spirit with the lack of sense of belonging to Hong Kong and therefore with an absence, for the most part, of a feeling of civic spirit or responsibility, there results a considerable barrier of apathy and sometimes positive resistance to Government measures designed to make the best use of the Colony's space and resources.
3. The Police Force is the most visible arm of Government and it must of necessity become associated with measures which, although designed for the common good, may from time to time run contrary to individual and sectarian interests. The clearance of squatters, the restric- tion within proper bounds of the hawker population, and the strict enforcement of parking regulations, these and other activities are not calculated to increase the popularity of the Police Force with the public. Furthermore, throughout the wide range of Police duties, there are bound to be instances when members of the Police Force have failed in or exceeded their duties, just as there are many occasions when members of the public forget or ignore their responsibilities towards others. So far as the Police Force is concerned, specific complaints are isolated and infrequent. This does not mean that they pass unnoticed or unpublicized. On the contrary, in such a compact community it often happens that even a trivial and purely local complaint achieves full cover in the Colony's press and tends to present a distorted image of the Police Force as a whole, disregarding the fact that every complaint against the Police occasions a full inquiry and strict disciplinary action when a complaint is proven. Police efforts to further proper relations with the public are however directed not so much at countering objections to the behaviour of individual Police officers as at explaining as fully as possible Police policy, intentions and methods.
4. During the year under review, we have made increased efforts to present Police activities to the public in a frank way that can be easily understood by any intelligent person. A special section has been developed in Police Headquarters responsible for direct liaison with the press and for keeping both press and radio fully informed by liaison
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