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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1989
"THE ADMINISTRATION SHARES THE PUBLIC'S WISH THAT THE POLICE AND FIRE SERVICES, AMONGST OTHER DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT, SHOULD BE KEPT UP TO STRENGTH AND THAT THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY DETERIORATION IN THE PRESENT HIGH STANDARD OF SERVICES PROVIDED, НЕ
SAID.
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MR BARNES SAID THAT A TELEVISED PROGRAMME BY RADIO TELEVISION HONG KONG, TO WHICH MRS LAU HAD REFERRED, DID NOT DETRACT FROM THE RELEVANCE OF THE INFORMATION WHICH HE PROVIDED IN THE COUNCIL LAST MONTH.
THE STATISTICS HE GAVE THEN SHOWED THAT AT THE END OF 1988 THE POLICE WASTAGE RATE WAS SIX PER CENT WHILE THE VACANCY RATE WAS LESS THAN ONE PER CENT.
FOR THE FIRE SERVICES, THE WASTAGE AND VACANCY RATES WERE 3.3 PER CENT AND 6.5 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.
QUOTING STATISTICS FROM THE END OF LAST MONTH, MR BARNES SAID THE POLICE WASTAGE RATE FOR THE 1988-89 FINANCIAL YEAR WAS ESTIMATED TO INCREASE SLIGHTLY TO 6.2 PER CENT WHILE THE VACANCY RATE WOULD REMAIN AT LESS THAN ONE PER CENT.
AS FOR THE FIRE SERVICES. HE SAID, THE WASTAGE RATE WAS ESTIMATED TO INCREASE SLIGHTLY TO 3.6 PER CENT WHILE THE VACANCY RATE WOULD DECREASE TO 5.7 PER CENT.
"THESE FIGURES SHOW THAT THE VACANCY RATES OF THESE TWO DEPARTMENTS COMPARE FAVOURABLY WITH THE REST OF THE CIVIL SERVICE WHERE THE AVERAGE VACANCY RATE IN 1988 WAS 6.1 PER CENT, MR BARNES SAID.
"FOR WASTAGE THE POLICE RATE IS SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE CIVIL SERVICE RATE OF 5.6 PER CENT. THE FIRE SERVICES WASTAGE RATE, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER."
REFERRING TO POLICE SERVICES, MR BARNES SAID THAT IN 1988 THE OVERALL CRIME RATE DROPPED BY THREE PER CENT, AND THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE POLICE DROPPED BY 16.5 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 1987.
FOR THE FIRE SERVICES, IN 1988, 80 PER CENT OF THE FIRE CALLS WERE ANSWERED WITHIN THE TARGET RESPONSE TIME OF SIX MINUTES, WHILE THE AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME WAS ONLY 5.23 MINUTES.
"IT IS CLEAR FROM THESE IMPAIRMENT OF SERVICES, HE ADDED.
INDICATORS THAT
THERE HAS BEEN NO
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