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The control system for the Force teleprinter network.
• The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force pay and allowances.
Currently in the planning stage for computerisation are a personnel resources index, the Force stores inventory of items on personal issue to officers, details of licences processed by the Licensing Office, and the records of the Criminal Records Bureau.
Proposals for an integrated law and order statistical system based on computer operation and linked to the Force teleprinter have been submitted to Government and are now under discussion. The system will provide informa- tion to other interested Government departments and also furnish tactical information to the Force.
Internationally, a wide variety of arms and equipment, specifically for law enforcement use, are produced by Government agencies and private manufacturers, and many large companies, particularly in Europe and the United States, specialise in this type of work. The Planning and Research Division monitors all new developments in equipment in order to ensure that the Force is equipped with the most modern and efficient resources subject to cost effectiveness and the availability of funds. In most cases, before adoption by the Force, new equipment is obtained either by purchase or with the co-operation of the manufacturers, and is tested and evaluated. Where suitable equipment is not available in the open market, the Division custom-designs and, in some cases, produces items to meet specific needs.
Examples of projects which have recently been com- pleted, or are currently under test and evaluation, are:
Loading of revolver ammunition by the Force with
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a view to reducing expenditure on training and practice ammunition.
• Provision of bullet-resistant shields for special operations.
• Protective devices for use on vehicles in internal security operations.
• Laser beam rifle sights for use on special operations.
• A water tank bullet trap for the Ballistics Office. The Division also reviews police operational procedures, both of a routine nature and for emergency situations, with a view to improving efficiency and effecting economies.
The developing needs of the community generate a con- tinuing demand for additional police services and this is reflected in the Force's extensive building programme. Police stations are required for new towns and to meet population increases in developing areas, and buildings are also needed to provide ancillary services within the Force. The financial constraints, which to some extent inhibited the programme in 1975, have now eased and projects which were then postponed have been reinstated. Where possible, if increased police facilities are needed, consideration is given to the redevelopment of existing sites in preference to the acquisition of new sites.
Examples of this are plans for the redevelopment at existing sites of Hong Kong Island Headquarters in Central, the Police Tactical Unit in Fanling and the Dog Unit in Yuen Long.
At the end of 1977, there were 46 projects in the building programme and nine projects under construction. The latter included five new divisional stations, one sub-
divisional station and three married quarters. A number of new projects are under consideration.
Neighbourhood Policing
The Division maintains a constant review of policing services in the territory. Currently, emphasis is being placed on the problems of policing high-rise buildings and the progressive expansion of the neighbourhood policing unit concept, which was initiated in 1974.
Neighbourhood policing units represent a decentralisa- tion of police services and, in effect, function as small police stations situated in the heart of densely populated areas, usually in public housing estates. They have proven to be a most effective method of policing areas where there is a high density of population, although they are relatively expensive in their use of manpower, which to now has had to be found by redeployment from other formations. Unquestionably, the neighbourhood policing units are popular with the residents of the areas in which they are situated because they provide a full-time, visible, police presence, from whom the public can readily get assistance.
LEX YUEN ESTATE POLICE REPORTING CENTRE »
The Lek Yuen Estate Police Reporting Centre was opened during the year and is already much appreciated by the residents in the area.
Future expansion plans now include provision in the Force establishment for the manning of projected new units. More units are planned for all new towns, while existing reporting centres, which are manned by only one or two officers to receive reports, are gradually to be con- verted into neighbourhood policing units. By the end of 1977, there were a total of 87 police reporting centres, of which 30 are operated as neighbourhood policing units. Together, these have provided a significantly increased police presence in the community and are a valuable com- plement to the traditional beat and mobile patrol methods of policing. A total of 50 additional reporting centres are expected to become operational in 1978–79.
A general review of the police (disciplined) establishment is now in progress. This is being undertaken to establish new manning scales based on redeployment of existing resources, and increases indicated by analysis of workload and known existing and future commitments. To date, the review has covered the Uniformed Branch establishment
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