CO129-575-13 Salaries scales in Hong Kong Police Force 6-6-1939 - 18-8-1939 — Page 16

5

16

to be

continually on the alert to ensure that they enforce the

law as required by the legislature.

To add to our difficulties we do not have

to keep order amongst a community of law-abiding citizens,

such as is found in European cities, but amongst a very

mixed racial community, many of whom by native custom and

may be also by reason of their poor circumstances do not

understand why they should oboy laws and particularly the

laws of foreigners.

8.

It is a common saying the world over that

"A Policeman is always on duty. Particularly is that so

of your humble petitioners. We do the same period of

eight hours' street duty that is done by the Home Police,

in a climate that is far from being ideal, amongst an

alien people whose ideas of cleanliness are much below us.

In our work we naturally are in constant contact with the

lowest elements of the population where disease is most

rife and the danger of infection always present.

When we

return to our Station at the end of the eight hours we

cannot say that we are free. From the reasons we have

given before we have to attend at the Police Court very

often, in many cases two or three times a week, we may

have to attend drill parades, First Aid lectures, a course

in A.R.P. or Defaulter Parades. It is true that we are

supposed to get time off later from duty for attending

some of the above, but the time off seldom or never equals

the time actually taken by them.

Many Lance-Sergeants in the Force serve on

the Detective Staff and their duties involve great respon-

sibility and entail very long hours of work. From the

nature of our Force, they often have at the same time

charge of the handling of several cases of serious crime.

In a County or Minicipal Force in England, the type of

✔