ENG-1988 — Page 298

PUBLIC ORDER

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road. The time taken to handle incoming emergency calls and despatch the fire appliances will thus be cut to well under one minute in most cases.

Staff Training

All recruits except those in the specialist communications ranks of senior fireman (control) and senior firewoman (control) are trained at the Fire Services Training School at Pat Heung in the New Territories. The courses vary in content and last from eight to 26 weeks. The training of senior firemen (control) and senior firewomen (control) is conducted at the Fire Services Communication Centre in Kowloon by instructors from the centre.

During the year, 366 recruits completed initial training. The school also conducted fire protection courses for senior station officers and station officers, refresher courses for ambulance personnel, basic courses on fire fighting, fighting fires on ships and on the use of breathing apparatus for government departments and private organisations. Some 390 people attended these courses during the year. The Driving Training School conducted courses for 1 326 officers and other ranks.

Establishment and Recruitment

The uniformed establishment of the Fire Services Department at the end of 1988 totalled 6795. The number of civilian staff employed by the department increased to 684. Recruitment exercises were held, resulting in the appointment of 49 officers and 189 firemen and 174 ambulancemen. Standards are high and on average only about five per cent of all applicants are accepted for appointment.

Immigration Department

Apart from facilitating travel and administering civil registrations, the Immigration Department also plays an important role in maintaining law and order in Hong Kong.

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Immigration Control

Through examination at various control points and vetting of visa applications, undesirable persons including international criminals, swindlers, members of quasi-religious sects, terrorists, doubtful visitors and other persona non grata are detected and refused entry into Hong Kong. In 1988, 42 615 such travellers and persons not in possession of proper documentation were refused permission to land, and '1'539 applicants were refused issue of visas.

Detection of Forged Travel Documents

Continued efforts are made to guard against the use of forged travel documents and identity cards by illegal immigrants and travellers. The security features of Hong Kong travel documents and identity cards have been continuously refined to make them difficult to forge. Special operations are mounted against forgers and syndicates while intelligence on forgery is collected and quickly disseminated.

Frequent contacts are also made with other local and overseas law enforcement agencies and consulates. During the year, a total of 1 154 forged travel documents were detected. In April 1988, a major operation netted 55 forged travel documents, 36 forged seals and other forgery equipment. In the operation, six persons were arrested and charged.