n The Beat
With the Police Training School and the Government Language School behind him, a Probationary Inspector will find himself posted to one of the Colony's stations. It might be in the remote regions of the New Territories or in one of the busy urban areas.
On station the newcomer receives vital training on the job. The hours will be long, but the range of work he will be involved in will make his time anything but monotonous.
He will work at the station duty desk and will also spend weeks on the beat. He
He may be attached for short periods to the C.I.D., to the Traffic Branch or to a Magistrate's Court.
In the urban area he will, at some stage, be in charge of the vice squad. There are three aspects of vice work: gambling, dangerous drugs and offences related to women and juveniles. In some stations all three are handled by one squad, in others they are the province of separate units.
Invariably, a Probationary Inspector will, at the outset, live on station in bachelor quarters. Most of the larger stations have a mess with a dining room and a television lounge. These messes are run by members' committees and a grant from the Police Welfare Fund helps them to buy soft furnishings. The monthly mess bill, excluding drinks, is about £25.10.0.
Typical of the programme for a Probationary Inspector, on first posting from the school, is the Kowloon District Headquarters schedule:
It starts with a two weeks attachment at headquarters under the personal supervision. of a senior officer. Then come lectures, a tour of district police stations, instruction on methods of arrest, search and documentation; vice squad techniques; tour of the districts main narcotics and vice areas and participation in raids; study of '999' system and radio procedures; attachment to court to study procedure; attachment to C.I.D.; "under- study for station duty officer"; attachment to special duties squad; patrol inspector duties.
When this 14-week training programme is complete, the officer performs his normal everyday duties.
In and out of the station there is much for the Probationary Inspector to do and learn.
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