ENG-1980 — Page 186

PUBLIC ORDER

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A number of senior officers have been sent to the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States of America and various European countries for courses on customs control pro- cedures or seminars on anti-narcotics measures. Others have attended personnel manage- ment courses at local and overseas universities, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic, to develop their leadership and supervisory abilities.

Independent Commission Against Corruption

The year 1980 was one of increased activity for the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). A record number of 333 cases were brought to court and action was stepped-up on the corruption prevention and community relations fronts.

The ICAC was set up in February, 1974, to tackle the problem of corruption through detection and investigation, prevention, and the enlistment of public support in fighting corruption. The commission is financed from general revenue and the Commissioner of the ICAC answers directly to the Governor and engages his own staff.

The commission has an establishment of 1,096, with 644 personnel in the operations department, 78 in the corruption prevention department and 268 in the community rela- tions department. Administration support for the three departments is provided by an administration branch consisting of 106 posts. At the end of the year, the commission had 974 members of staff, with 600 in operations, 60 in corruption prevention, 225 in com- munity relations and 89 in the administration branch.

The commission receives advice on policy matters affecting staffing, financial estimates, administration and other aspects of its work from the Advisory Committee on Corruption, which consists of leading citizens and senior government officials. Each of the three func- tional departments of the commission has a separate advisory committee whose member- ship is drawn from various sectors of the community.

An ICAC Complaints Committee, comprising seven Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils and a law officer, monitors complaints against the commission and advises the commissioner on any action considered necessary.

Operations

The Operations Department is responsible for receiving and investigating reports of alleged and suspected offences under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, the ICAC Ordinance and the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Ordinance.

In 1980, 333 people were taken to court for alleged violations under these ordinances. This was the highest number of prosecutions since the commission was established. Of the 264 prosecutions completed by the end of the year, 202 resulted in conviction, representing a conviction rate of 77 per cent. A further 64 cases were still pending. During the year, 82 reports were submitted by the commission to various government departments for their consideration of disciplinary or administrative action against serving government officers.

The department received 1,772 corruption complaints in 1980 compared to 1,665 in 1979. Of these, 750 were made by telephone; 469 by personal visits to the commission's 24-hour report centre and the nine ICAC local offices; and 343 were by letter. A significant trend in the complaints received was the increase in reports alleging corruption in the private sector, which rose from 398 in 1979 to 534 during 1980. Corruption complaints against members of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force eased off during the year. In 1980, 523 complaints were made against the police compared with 635 in 1979.