XN000022-1996-04-03 — Page 46

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In Step with the Times: Improving Efficiency and Service

Immigration Services

Pressures on us to facilitate the movement of people in and out of Hong Kong efficiently have continued to increase. Over the last 5 years, passenger trips across our land, sea and air entry points have increased by 33%. Despite this, we have generally been able to maintain our performance pledge of clearing 92% of the passengers within 30 minutes, through a combination of additional resources, redeployment. efficiency improvements, computerisation and the use of advanced technology such as Optical Scanners. At the same time, we have through the application of information technology produced savings in the order of $190 million (or 613 posts). In this financial year, we shall see further improvements in the land border at Lok Ma Chau, with the increase of one vehicle kiosk and 5 passenger counters, We have also provided sufficient resources to cope with the additional workload arising from the increase of the One Way Permit Quota from 105 to 150 per day, and to extend the scope of the Direct Visa Application Scheme. We have just completed a consultancy study on how to improve efficiency further in the immigration control points at the Airport, and I look forward to improved performance in the year ahead. Let there be no doubt about the efficiency of the Immigration Department to respond to fast- changing developments: the tremendous response by the Department in recent days to cope with the flood of applications for naturalisation is a clear testimony of this.

Police Management Review (PMR)

We have kept faith with our commitment to continue the task of implementing recommendations arising from the Police Management Review, which will ultimately enable us to have one of the world's most modern Police Force. We have already implemented 9 of the Review Reports. In this financial year, we will begin to implement 12 more Reports which means that nearly half of the PMR Reports will have been implemented. Furthermore, through the increasing use of modern communication and information technology, we have been able to release a good number of professionally-trained police officers to front-line operational duties. In this financial year, we will be spending an extra $190 million in computerisation, and $31 million in modernising communication equipments.

Honourable Members will recall that the Commissioner of Police announced in March last year his commitment to the development of a Service Quality Strategy. The Strategy aims to ensure that the Force provides an effective, efficient service of high quality to the public. It involves the development of a customer-based culture. and the provision of training in "quality management". As part of the Strategy, the Force has recently conducted an opinion survey on public perceptions of the Police and its performance. This was released yesterday. We will carefully study the findings of the Survey to determine what needs to be done to further improve the quality of service of the Police in order to keep up with the time and the expectation of the public. We welcome constructive suggestions from Honourable Members and the public in this process.