ENG-1994 — Page 359

PUBLIC ORDER

life-saving and self-defence. Inspectors also study management theory and practical leadership. As part of recruit training, expatriate inspectors study colloquial Cantonese, while functional English is taught to local inspectors.

An officer is kept up-to-date on new legislation and procedures by in-service training at regular intervals throughout his service. In addition, there are tailor-made courses for officers in more specialised formations involved in, among other things, marine, traffic, financial investigation and instructional work. Language courses in English, Mandarin and Vietnamese are also run in conjunction with the Civil Service Training Centre. During the year, 65 officers were sent to the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia for management, specialist and technical training.

Promotion training for junior police officers takes place at the Police Training School as soon as possible, after an officer's promotion. The instruction is designed to equip officers with the management and decision-making skills necessary for their new ranks.

In-service management training is provided at three levels in the form of command courses. The Junior (JCC), Intermediate (ICC) and Senior Command Courses (SCC) are run by the Higher Training Bureau of the Training Wing. These courses are attended by inspectors after approximately five years of service (JCC), and by chief inspectors (ICC) and superintendents (SCC) who have been promoted within the previous 12 months. The courses are structured to broaden and develop officers' intellectual and management abilities. Officers are exposed to a wide variety of lectures and discussions with senior police officers and academics, as well as members of the Legislative Council and senior managers from the private sector. Outside visits are also arranged, with an emphasis placed on examining management problems.

A large number of police officers have taken courses offered by tertiary institutes and where possible, they are granted time off to facilitate their studies. Force members took part, for the first time in 1994, in courses arranged by the University of Portsmouth to obtain an honorary Bachelor of Science degree in policing and police studies, with a bridging course in Chinese making the courses available to the Force's junior ranks.

The Detective Training School provides initial, continuation and advanced training in criminal investigation for officers throughout the Force. Specialist courses are also organised when required. These include five-day courses to train officers on how to record interviews with suspects on video, and 11-day courses for officers who may be required to deal with victims of sexual assault and child abuse.

Throughout the year, emphasis continued to be placed on firearms training.

Arming of Women Police

A decision was reached in principle in November on the future arming of women police.

To implement this decision, women recruit police constables joining after January 1995 will take part in a full-scale training programme to assess both training commitments and suitability of weapon.

In addition, volunteer women officers in emergency units will undergo a basic firearms qualification course with the current Smith and Wesson Model 10 revolvers in an operational pilot scheme, in particular to determine the suitability of the weapon for women. Women recruit police constables joining after January 1995 will be informed that they will be required to undergo firearms training and may be required to carry arms on duty.

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