TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1984
7
PILOT SCHEME TO CONTROL HAWKING PROVES EFFECTIVE
THE PILOT SCHEME TO BETTER CONTROL HAWKING IN WAN CHAI AND YAU MA TEI HAS SHOWN SIGNS OF SUCCESS SINCE ITS INTRODUCTION THREE MONTHS AGO.
COMMENTING ON THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE SCHEME, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE URBAN COUNCIL SAID NOT ONLY WERE THERE FEWER ILLEGAL HAWKERS IN THE TWO DISTRICTS, BUT THE HAWKER BLACKSPOTS THERE HAD BEEN REDUCED IN NUMBER AND SIZE.
HE SAID IMPROVEMENTS WERE ALSO SEEN IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION OF HAWKER PERMITTED PLACES AND VARIOUS PITCH SITES.
THE SCHEME WAS INTRODUCED IN JUNE THIS YEAR FOR A TRIAL PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS WITH THE AIM OF IMPROVING THE COST EFFECTIVENESS AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF HAWKER CONTROL.
+UNDER THE SCHEME, EACH GENERAL DUTIES TEAM (GDT) IS PROVIDED WITH A LARGER NUMBER OF FOREMEN EMPOWERED TO MAKE ARRESTS.
+THE PROVISION OF RADIO COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT AND THE ADOPTION OF REVISED OPERATIONAL TACTICS HAVE ALSO GREATLY ENHANCED MOBILISATION CAPABILITY, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
GENERAL DUTIES TEAMS CAN BE DEPLOYED MORE FLEXIBLY TO COVER A WIDER SCOPE OF OPERATION.
EXPLAINING THE STRATEGY AND TACTICS, THE SPOKESMAN SAID EACH OF THE TWO DISTRICTS WAS DIVIDED INTO OPERATIONAL ZONES FOR RAIDING OPERATIONS AND SECTIONAL PATROLS.
+FOR HAWKER CONCENTRATION AREAS, RAIDING OPERATIONS WERE SUPPLEMENTED BY SECTIONAL PATROLS AND SURPRISE RAIDS, + HE SAID.
+ IN THE CASE OF HAWKER PERMITTED PLACES AND HAWKING SITES IN THE VICINITY OF THEATRES, SCHOOLS AND MARKETS, THE TACTICS WAS TO DETER HAWKERS FROM TAKING ROOT BY THE POSTING OF GDT PERSONNEL ON SITE BEFORE AND DURING NORMAL TRADING HOURS.
+ IN ADDITION, SPECIAL OPERATIONS WERE MOUNTED TO SEIZE HAWKER HANDCARTS DURING NON-HAWKER BUSINESS HOURS AND TO CLAMP DOWN ON ILLEGAL FOOD FACTORIES WHICH SUPPLIED COOKED FOOD TO ILLEGAL HAWKERS.+
FOLLOWING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PILOT SCHEME, THE AVERAGE MONTHLY NUMBERS OF ARRESTS OF HAWKERS IN WAN CHAI AND YAU MA TEI BETWEEN JUNE AND AUGUST WERE 1 134 AND 1 694 RESPECTIVELY, COMPARED WITH 784 AND 884 IN MAY.
ALSO, THE