ENG-1956 — Page 229

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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

under which an applicant, wishing to obtain exemption from the Ordinance in respect of certain buildings, brings pro- ceedings before a tribunal for that purpose. These tribunals consist of a president (who has legal qualifications) and two lay members chosen from a panel appointed by the Chief Justice. In order to deal with this large increase, it was necessary during the year to appoint another 113 lay members to assist in the Tribunals.

POLICE

The tasks of the Hong Kong Police Force are many and varied; its problems encompass all those usually associated with a major sea port and harbour, and, for the greater part of its undertakings, a metropolitan standard is required. The very high density of population in the urban areas carries with it all the elements conducive to the corruption of morals and conduct. The hustle and bustle of a teeming metropolis, a large network of business houses and commercial under- takings supplying the needs of the Colony and engaged in large scale entrepôt trade, modern and progressive industri- alization and extensive maritime activities, all create prob- lems of one kind or another demanding from the Police Force continuous vigilance and a frequent reassessment of ideas and methods.

Happily, the growth of civic-mindedness is becoming in- creasingly apparent throughout the community, and the sup- port and co-operation of the general public have done much to help the police in combatting crime and maintaining law and order. It is a fundamental principal that the only way to police an urban area effectively is by a sufficient and proper deployment of beat policemen. In Hong Kong, as elsewhere, the beat constable is a part of the familiar scene, readily avail- able and constantly in touch with the public's needs, and a steadily growing number of Hong Kong's citizens are coming to regard the policeman as their friend and the guardian of the peace.