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the type of
crime that is frequently handled by us would invariably
be given to an officer of senior rank, such as a Detective
Inspector, and very often he would not be expected to take
over any other duties until he had completed that one
particular assignation. The Detective Lance-Sergeant does
get extra pay in the form of $12.00 per month plain clothes
allowance, but we leave it to Your Excellency to consider
how far such an allowance will go in Hong Kong towards
providing them with decent clothes, when consideration is
given to the fact that their work brings them into intimate
contact with the dirtiest elements of the population thus
entailing the continuous washing and cleaning of the
clothing.
The Lance-Sergeants are all liable to be
called to serve for extended periods of one to two years
in Out-Stations, where the responsibility thrown on the
young officer is extremely heavy. For instance, a Lance-
Sergeant in charge of such a station as SAI KUNG has in
his charge a large district with many villages and a
considerable population. In addition to managing his
station and his men and investigating local crime, he has
to settle amicably the numberless minor disputes that are
always occuring in the Chinese villages. Over and above
those Police duties he has to act on behalf of the Post
Master, the Harbour Master, the Registrar of Births and
Deaths and as a Tax Collector for Crown Rent, etc. He is
permitted 24 hours' from his station on three days in the
month when he is brought into Hong Kong by Police launch,
When he is able to avail himself of such leave he very
often finds that a good deal of his time in the city must
still be spent in connection with his work. As is quite
understandable, the cost of living in sucha Station is
considerably higher than in town, as all compradores charge
extra to cover the cost of transportation, etc. However,