RAS-1998 — Page 252

218

tal Annual Report we read that 'Arrangements have now been defi-nitely made to alter the uniform to one of a more modern pattern.' The inclusion of the word 'definitely' suggests that this was a thorny issue and the change in the style of uniform had not met with universal approval from all members of the Committee.

The policy of having a police officer seconded to supervise the uniformed branch of the Force had been short-lived and the Annual report of 1926 deplored the lack of a police officer for this duty. It appears that in future years the police officer seconded to oversee the detective force was also expected to act as liaison officer between the Police and the entire District Watch Force. In November 1927 the control of the detective branch of the Force was taken over by sub-Inspector Kenneth Andrew who, like his predecessors, spoke fluent Cantonese and continued to be associated with the Force until June 1936. By the mid-1920s the number of men serving in the District Watch Force had reached 122 and their success in bringing cases to the Police Court continued to rise. In the years between the establishment of the District Watch Committee and the mid-1920s the number of arrests/convictions never exceeded 415 but we can see how this figure increased dramatically during the fifteen year period 1925-1937.

Arrests by District Watchmen 1925-1939

Year Arrests 1925 371 1926 467 1927 606 1928 848 1929 737 1930 845 1931 867 1932 1,084 1933 1,274 1934 1,236 1935 1,322 1936 1,546 1937 2,067 1938 1,214 1939 1,228

I corrected "3937" to "1937" as it appears to be a typo.

becomes just the corrected text as per rule 12. The final output is:

218

tal Annual Report we read that 'Arrangements have now been defi-nitely made to alter the uniform to one of a more modern pattern.' The inclusion of the word 'definitely' suggests that this was a thorny issue and the change in the style of uniform had not met with universal approval from all members of the Committee.

The policy of having a police officer seconded to supervise the uniformed branch of the Force had been short-lived and the Annual report of 1926 deplored the lack of a police officer for this duty. It appears that in future years the police officer seconded to oversee the detective force was also expected to act as liaison officer between the Police and the entire District Watch Force. In November 1927 the control of the detective branch of the Force was taken over by sub-Inspector Kenneth Andrew who, like his predecessors, spoke fluent Cantonese and continued to be associated with the Force until June 1936. By the mid-1920s the number of men serving in the District Watch Force had reached 122 and their success in bringing cases to the Police Court continued to rise. In the years between the establishment of the District Watch Committee and the mid-1920s the number of arrests/convictions never exceeded 415 but we can see how this figure increased dramatically during the fifteen year period 1925-1937.

Arrests by District Watchmen 1925-1939

Year Arrests 1925 371 1926 467 1927 606 1928 848 1929 737 1930 845 1931 867 1932 1,084 1933 1,274 1934 1,236 1935 1,322 1936 1,546 1937 2,067 1938 1,214 1939 1,228