Page 81
498
78
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
(b) How many parkkeepers are there in the Urban Services Department? Is there a shortage of such staff?
(c) How many parks have/do not have parkkeepers? What are the criteria adopted by the Department in determining which parks should have parkkeepers?
(d) At present, what is the frequency of inspection of open spaces, such as small gardens, playgrounds and sitting-out areas, by staff responsible for patrolling district facilities?
Mr. Ronnie Wong Man-chiu, Chairman of the Recreation Select Committee, replied as follows (in Cantonese):—The question consists of 4 parts. The first part asks whether the Department has arrested gamblers under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance in the past three years and asks for the number of cases involved if the answer is positive. It also asks for the reasons if the answer is negative. In the past three years, the Department has not arrested any gamblers under the provisions of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance Cap. 132 because, whilst section 111 of this Ordinance does give the parkkeeper the power to arrest gamblers who are found gambling in the park and deliver them into the custody of a police officer or take them to the nearest police station for follow-up action, there are however practical difficulties when the parkkeeper exercises his power of arrest under Cap. 132. The practical difficulties are mainly related to the question of whether there are sufficient evidence of gambling activities (e.g. there are occasions where members of the public who play chess or card games in the park are in fact engaged in gambling under disguise). Also, the gamblers often employ look-outs to avoid being caught red-handed.
The second part asks for the number of parkkeepers in the Department and whether there is a shortage of such staff. There are at present 294 parkkeeper posts, including 42 Artisan and 252 Workman posts. Another 8 Workman I posts have been approved by the Council and are pending creation subject to the availability of new recruits. No difficulty has been encountered in recruiting such staff.
The third part of the question is about the number of parks which have/do not have parkkeepers and the criteria adopted by the Department in determining which parks should have parkkeepers. All major venues are provided with full-time parkkeeper posts. Such venues include those with active recreational facilities for hire, venues with an area exceeding 1 hectare and prestigious venues which are centrally located and heavily patronised by members of the public. All 400 venues which do not justify a full-time parkkeeper are patrolled by mobile parkkeepers at least once a day. There are however about 300 small roadside amenity areas which are not provided with park-keeping service because of their small size and very limited facilities.
The last part of the question is about the frequency of inspection of open spaces such as small gardens, playgrounds and sitting-out areas by staff
198