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, 23 square miles of which comprises Victoria Harbour. Police launches also cover the 15 ports of the territory and about 243 islands and isolated communities.
The district is populated by an assortment of land and boat people estimated at about 115,000. Roughly 59,000 live aboard some 7,500 craft of which 6,000 comprise the fishing fleet, and the others live and/or work on cargo lighters, ferries and 'houseboats'.
The Marine District is commanded by an Assistant Commissioner and has a strength of 1,359 all ranks, against an establishment of 1,535. This complement consists of 1,109 uniformed personnel, 82 detectives of CID Marine, 37 police drivers, 12 traffic personnel, seven women and 112 civilian staff.
The present headquarters at Tsim Sha Tsui dates back to 1884, and houses the sub-division of Yau Ma Tei Kowloon Command as well as headquarters staff, the Marine Police Training School and the Communications Centre.
Marine Police Training School
Constables elect to join the Marine Police on recruitment to the PTS in Aberdeen, and may enter in either the deck or engineering grades. After completing the same basic training as their land colleagues, they are posted to Marine District where they initially attend a further two-month course on seamanship/engineering and allied subjects. This is conducted at the Marine Police Training School.
Marine Police Officers are taught just what makes their craft run.
The school provides in-service training for personnel of the District and for Auxiliary police undertaking marine work. During the year 255 regular officers of all ranks and 61 Auxiliaries completed courses on navigation, engineer- ing and wireless telegraphy. In addition, 24 officers and senior NCOs attended a radar course at the Hong Kong Polytechnic. Next year, the school hopes to run its first wireless operator courses for women police officers, to
qualify them for duty in the District's control room. However, this depends on sufficient volunteers applying for service in the District.
Inspectorate officers are drawn from the general officer cadre of the Force, and after one year sea-time, attend the school in order to take their certificates in navigation.
The school continued to be very popular with young visitors, and more than 530 students from 12 schools and youth organisations paid visits to it.
It is also responsible for recruitment, and throughout the year members of its staff visited outlying islands with a view to attracting young officers. The campaign was highly successful and attracted more than 130 applications.
Radio Communications
The Control Room is the communications centre of the District, with radio links to all the launches, outlying stations, Police Headquarters and the three other police districts. Radio links are also maintained with the Royal Navy, Marine Department, Preventive Service and Im- migration Department. Certain launches have been equip- ped with a small International Telegraph Telephone (ITT) transceiver giving them a ground to air, and ship-to-shore, facility.
The Hong Kong station of Interpol which works to the South East Asia regional headquarters in Tokyo, is located at Marine Headquarters, and is operated by Marine Police radio operators. During the year 1,634 messages were received from, and 186 transmitted to, various parts of the world.
The District is divided into three divisions—Harbour, Sectors and Islands.
Harbour Division
Harbour Division is responsible for policing the Port of Victoria, Green Island and various islands to the east of the port, the Po Toi group-including Waglan-the Ninepins group, and various islands in Junk Bay and Tat- hong Channel. Stonecutters Island is included, but as this is a completely military establishment it is basically self-policing.
The division is commanded by a Superintendent and has a strength of 159, against an establishment of 233. There are eight beat patrol launches and two general purpose launches patrolling the harbour, working to Harbour Police Station.
Work of the harbour police primarily consists of enforc- ing the Merchant Shipping Regulations, which could best be described as the 'Traffic Law of the Sea' as they provide for the safety, movement and control of craft at sea.
In this context it should be noted that some 600 ocean- going ships and numerous smaller vessels engaged in coastal trade enter and leave the harbour each month. This is, of course, in addition to the multitude of small craft plying their trade within the harbour, and the local fishing fleet which operates out of the typhoon shelters at Shau Kei Wan, Yau Ma Tei and Tsuen Wan.
45
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.