XN000022-1995-03-29 — Page 57

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Law and Order

I fully appreciate Honourable Members' concern about the adequacy of police presence on our streets, but they should rest assured that we have sufficient police officers on patrol. Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world. By international standards, we are a well-policed community. Apart from the many uniformed police officers who patrol particular beats, there are a considerable number of officers who may be less visible, but are no less involved in "front-line" operational duties. These include officers in Emergency Units, in District Traffic Teams, in Police Tactical Units and various Crime Investigation Units. Altogether, some 79% of our police officers are directly engaged in 'front-line' duties.

In response to the community's concern about visible police presence, we propose to deploy 400 additional Police officers on the streets and 81 additional Police officers to strengthen the Police Tactical Unit in the coming year.

The Police will continue to deploy officers in an effective and flexible manner, assisted by advanced communication and computer support systems. We realise the importance of technology in modern policing. We, therefore, propose to spend some $40 million and $52 million respectively on enhancing Police communication and computer systems. With this enhanced support, our Police Force will be able to react to incidents more quickly and more effectively. This is one of the reasons why the more manpower intensive Neighbourhood Police Units can be replaced, with no reduction in effective policing.

I am aware of Honourable Members' interest over the progress and outcome of the Police Management Review. The objective of the review is to determine the appropriate level of manning for the Police Force to carry out its functions efficiently. It also critically examines whether certain tasks should continue to be performed by the Police; whether more modern technology can be used; and the maximum extent of civilianisation. This is the most comprehensive study of the Police establishment ever undertaken and obviously takes time to complete; we must get it right. Initial examination of the 42 reports has just recently been completed, and I am working at presenting the reports to the Security Panel of this Council for examination next month. I am sure that Honourable Members will find that many of the detailed points expressed in this debate will be addressed there.