ENG-2006 — Page 382

314 Public Order

Information relating to police activities is disseminated to local and overseas media organisations round the clock. PPRB also produced a number of publications, including the biweekly newspaper OffBeat, the JPC monthly newsletter, the Police in Figures leaflet and the Police Review 2005 which won an Honourable Mention in the 2006 Best Annual Report Awards organised by the Hong Kong Management Association. PPRB also assisted the Fight Crime Committee in planning and implementing the Fight Crime Publicity Campaign 2006-07 which carried the theme 'Beware of Deceptions and Thefts'.

In 2006, the Police Force bestowed the Good Citizen Award on 79 citizens for assisting the Police in their fight against crime.

Police telephone hotlines and Crime Information Forms provide convenient channels for reporting crime. A total of 21 284 hotline phone calls - excluding those made to the '999' hotline and 1 635 returned Crime Information Forms were recorded by year-end, resulting in 745 arrests.

Planning and Development

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The new purpose-built Marine Outer Waters District Headquarters-cum-Marine North Division Operational Base in Ma Liu Shui was completed in April 2006 and was fully operational by August.

Funding for the construction of a new annex block adjacent to the existing Waterfront Divisional Police Station to accommodate the Central District Headquarters and Central Divisional Police Station was approved by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in July. The building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009. The project will facilitate the amalgamation of the Central and Waterfront Police Divisions.

Information and Communication Technology

The award-winning third generation Command and Control Communications System, which was brought out in March 2006, became the main communications platform for the Police Force. It has contributed to the efficiency of the Police Force. The Police will continue to upgrade their information and communications systems over time.

Training

The Hong Kong Police College which opened in January marked the beginning of a new period of police training. The new college is committed not only to ensuring professional police training in Hong Kong, but to inculcating a lifelong learning culture within the Force and strengthening collaboration with its Mainland and overseas counterparts, as well as other external training partners.

In line with this philosophy, the Police Force chose the Open University of Hong Kong as its partner in drawing up two modules for a Recruit Police Constable Foundation Training Course. The first batch of recruits to receive training under the programme graduated from the college in July 2006.