XN000022-1983-11-10 — Page 4

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1983

THIS YEAR, OF THE $400 MILLION BEING SPENT ON TRAINING GENERALLY, $46 MILLION HAD BEEN ALLOCATED TO MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISORY TRAINING, INDICATING INCREASING EMPHASIS BEING PLACED ON MANAGEMENT TRAINING IN RECENT YEARS, HE SAID,

HE REPORTED THAT ALSO, MORE THAN 40 OFFICERS HAD BEEN SENT THIS YEAR TO OXFORD, HENLEY, HARVARD AND OTHER CENTRES OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION WHILE 145 OFFICERS HAD BEEN SPONSORED ON MANAGEMENT COURSES AT LOCAL INSTITUTIONS.

+THERE IS THUS NO QUESTION OF OUR LIMITING MANAGEMENT TRAINING TO ON-THE-JOB TRAINING, ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE WRONG TO UNDER-RATE THE VALUE OF SUCH TRAINING,+ SIR PHILIP SAID.

ON PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, SIR PHILIP NOTED THAT THE HON CHAN KAM-CHUEN HAD SUGGESTED THAT THE MAINTENANCE OF CAPITAL WORKS SPENDING HAD MADE AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO PROTECTING THE ECONOMY FROM SOME OF THE EFFECTS OF THE WORLD RECESSION.

+THIS MAY BE SO BUT, IN FACT, THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THAT EXPENDITURE WAS NOT SO MUCH ANTI-CYCLICAL AS THE NEED TO SUSTAIN THE MOMENTUM OF INVESTMENT IN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE SO NECESSARY TO HONG KONG'S DEVELOPMENT.

+EVEN WHEN PRUDENT BUDGETARY POLICY DEMANDS THAT THE GROWTH RATE OF PUBLIC EXPENDITURE BE TRIMMED, THE NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S CAPITAL WORKS PROGRAMMES REQUIRE THAT COMMITMENTS ENTERED INTO BE ADHERED TO DESPITE ANY TEMPORARY DIFFICULTIES TO WHICH THE ECONOMY MAY BE SUBJECT, SIR PHILIP SAID.

HK RATES HIGH IN CRIME DETECTION

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HONG KONG'S CRIME RATES SEEMED TO BE LOW COMPARED WITH THOSE IN OTHER DENSELY POPULATED CITIES, AND ITS DETECTION RATES WERE HIGH BY INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, THE SECRETARY FOR SECURITY, THE HON DAVID JEAFFRESON, SAID IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY.

MR JEAFFRESON CONCEDED THAT REPORTED CRIME PER 100 000 OF THE POPULATION HAD BEEN RISING, WITH THE RATE GOING UP FROM 452 IN 1962 TO 834 IN 1972 AND TO 1 671 IN 1982.

+THIS YEAR IS NOT GOING TO SEE A REDUCTION IN THE RATE AND IT LOOKS TO ME AS IF THERE WILL BE AN INCREASE IN VIOLENT CRIME. BUT THE FACT IS THAT WE DO HAVE A WELL-RUN AND DEDICATED POLICE FORCE, HE SAID.

MR JE AFFRESON ADDED THAT A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE INCREASE IN REPORTED CRIME COULD POSSIBLY BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE FACT THAT, BECAUSE THE POLICE WERE MORE EFFECTIVE NOW, MORE PEOPLE WERE PREPARED TO REPORT CRIMES.

ON THE RECONSTITUTED FIGHT CRIME COMMITTEE WITH A MORE REPRESENTATIVE AND HIGH-POWERED MEMBERSHIP AND WITH THE CHIEF SECRETARY IN THE CHAIR, MR JE AFFRESON SAID THAT ALREADY SOME INTERESTING IDEAS WERE COMING FORWARD.

/HE SAID