ENG-1962 — Page 252

LAW, ORDER AND RECORDS

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which may be lost if too long a period is spent away from day- to-day police work. It also ensures that at the most mature and valuable stage of an officer's career he obtains all-round experience and is aware of the interdependence of all branches of the force. The uniformed branch of the force also includes two main specialist departments—the Criminal Investigation Department and Special Branch-and a number of specialist and technical branches such as the traffic office, the women police, communications and transport branch and the police auxiliaries. All these branches and units are controlled by Police Headquarters, which is the Com- missioner's administrative and operational headquarters.

Establishment. The establishment of the force is 98 gazetted officers, 730 junior officers and 7,765 non-commissioned officers and police constables. These figures include the women police, consisting of one gazetted officer, 12 junior officers and 330 non- commissioned officers and constables. At the end of the year the strength of the force was 94 gazetted officers, 686 junior officers and 6,957 non-commissioned officers and constables.

The difference between the strength and the establishment for the rank and file, a deficit at the end of the year of 808, reflects a difficulty which was examined by a working party set up by the Governor in March. To counter a serious wastage of personnel from the rank and file-a trend which started in early 1961—and a lack of young men coming forward to join the force, the working party submitted a number of recommendations on the conditions of service of the rank and file and these were accepted by Govern- ment on 12th September 1962. The main recommendation accepted was an increase in pay for members of the rank and file, who benefited by amounts ranging from $85 to $110 monthly. At the top of their respective scales a police constable now receives $490 monthly instead of $400, a corporal $540 instead of $430, and a sergeant $640 instead of $530. The new rates of pay were intro- duced with effect from 1st August 1962. Other recommendations made by the working party on matters of welfare, uniform and messing were still under detailed examination at the end of the

year.

During the year considerable progress was made with the plan- ning of quarters for junior officers. New married quarters for 196 officers and single quarters for 100 officers have been included