MARINE DISTRICT
The Marine District is responsible for policing the waters of Hong Kong within a 120-mile sea boundary. The sea patrol area is approximately 723 square miles, of which Victoria Harbour accounts for 23. Police launches also cover the 15 ports of the territory and about 243 islands and isolated communities.
The district is populated by a combination of land and boat communities, estimated to number about 99,320 people. Some 59,000 live afloat on roughly 7,500 craft 6,000 comprising the fishing fleet and the remainder cargo lighters, ferries or simply houseboats.
To meet its commitments, the district has an authorised establishment of 1,478 all ranks and a fleet of 45 craft of all classes. The fleet comprises 20 sea-going patrol launches, eight harbour launches, 11 motor boats, three jet launches, one CID decoy junk and two logistical special duty launches.
The year saw the addition to the fleet of a fast personnel carrier launch. Police launch 7 is a 48-foot, 20-knot logistical craft capable of carrying 25 passengers in all waters. It replaced a launch which could only carry 11 passengers in enclosed waters. The new launch, built locally of glass- reinforced plastic at a cost of $800,000, is fitted with modern navigational aids and communications including Radar UHF and VHF surface-to-surface and surface-to-air radios. The craft has an all-weather capability and is air con- ditioned.
The existing district headquarters at Tsim Sha Tsui, dating back to 1884, houses the Tsim Sha Tsui sub-division of Yau Ma Tei Division, Kowloon District, as well as Marine District Headquarters staff, the Marine Police Training School and the radio communications centre. Plans progressed during the year for a new headquarters complex on the waterfront off Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. The district comprises three divisions - Harbour, Sectors and Islands - and also operates its own training school and special communications centre.
Marine Police Training School
Constables elect to join the Marine Police on recruitment to the Police Training School in Aberdeen and may enter the deck or engineering grades. On completion of the same basic training as their land colleagues, they are posted to Marine District where they attend an initial two-month course in seamanship, engineering and allied subjects at the Marine Police Training School at the district headquarters.
The school provides in-service training for regular per- sonnel and for auxiliary police undertaking marine work. During the year 237 regular officers and 44 auxiliaries com- pleted courses on navigation, engineering and wireless telegraphy. Additionally, 20 officers attended specialised courses in radar at the Hong Kong Polytechnic.
Inspectorate officers are drawn from the general officer cadre of the Force and, after one year's sea patrol duty, attend the school to obtain certificates in navigation.
As part of the Force community relations effort, instruc- tion in navigation has also been extended to a number of
local fishermen from Sha Tau Kok. Also in furtherance of community relations, about 570 students, representing 15 schools or organisations, visited the school and toured the district.
Radio Communications
The communications centre is located at the district head- quarters and maintains radio links with all the launches, outlying stations, Police Headquarters and the three land districts. Radio links are also maintained with the Royal Navy, Preventive Service and Immigration Department. Certain launches have been equipped with a small Inter- national Telegraph Telephone (ITT) transceiver providing a surface-to-air and ship-to-shore facility.
In June the Force joined the Interpol radio network, which spans the world. The Hong Kong station, which works to the Southeast Asia regional headquarters in Tokyo, is also located at district headquarters and is operated by marine police operators. In the second half of 1976 a total of 636 messages were received from, and 52 messages trans- mitted to, various parts of the world.
Crime and Policing
Because of the size, distribution and nature of the popula- tion, the incidence of crime is understandably low - only 228 cases or 229.6 per 100,000 of population being reported in 1976 as against 248 or 212.0 per 100,000 in 1975. One of the main crimes recorded was a cargo theft involving $2.5 million worth of property.
A small but nevertheless effective Criminal Investigation Department is an integral part of the operations of the district. The headquarters operates a small action team which has dual responsibility for investigating syndicates responsible for illegal immigration and for performing special tasks at the scenes of major crimes and disasters. During the year eight illegal immigration syndicates were neutralised. Some of these cases were revealed through interceptions by police units at sea and on land. The prevention and detection of illegal immigrants, and those who profit from the trade, remains a priority of the district.
Harbour Division
Harbour Division is responsible for policing the port of Victoria, Green Island, the Po Toi group of islands to the east, including Waglan, the Ninepins group and various islands in Junk Bay and Tat Hong Channel. One of the main commitments is Green Island which houses the Govern- ment Explosives Depot and a police post is maintained there for security purposes.
To patrol the 23 square miles of Victoria Harbour, six beat patrol launches and two general purpose launches are deployed.
The role of the Harbour Police is primarily to enforce the Merchant Shipping Regulations, which may be des- cribed as the 'traffic law of the sea' since they provide for the safety, movement and control of craft. Approximately
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