TNAG-0607-FCO40-755-Monitoring-progress-made-on-planning-papers-on-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 129

16

49.

Since 1973 the effective strength of the Force has been

increased by 36% to 20,013, including civilians, and the

new intake is of consistently high quality. In this process

of injecting good new blood into the Force I see the Police

Cadet School playing a steadily increasing role.

The CID has been substantially reorganised and reinforced

at all levels and there has been a marked improvement in

its technical support. But there is room for further

expansion and increase in establishment.

As part of the policy of strengthening Police presence on

the ground and in high-rise buildings 72 neighbourhood Police

Units and Police Reporting Centres have been established.

There is strong demand from the public for expansion of this

coverage.

Reaction-time, and also ability to control and supervise

the work of men on duty, have been greatly improved through

the best rudio system already covering Hong Kong Island,

Kowloon and Teucn Wan/Kwai Chung and gradually to be extended.

Here the immediate object must be to develop the full potential

of this radical improvement in policing capability.

Relations with the public have been gradually improved through

education of the Force, the revision of procedures, the

establishment of Police Community Relations Officers and the

highly successful Junior Police Call.

These drastic changes in numbers deployment professional

techniques and traditional attitudes to the public, have all been

adopted with great speed, at a time when the Force was undergoing the

process of weeding out the corrupt. The necessity for this process

/is accepted