Mandatory
Provident Fund
The
Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Scheme, which came into force on December
1, 2000, requires both employer and staff to contribute equal sums
representing five per cent of the employees' relevant monthly income or
$1,000 per month, whichever is the less. This includes officers employed
on agreement terms, who can carry their contributions forward to any other
jobs in Hong Kong or cash it subject to the preservation requirement of
the ordinance.
Personnel
Services
The
Personnel Services Branch offers comprehensive welfare and support
services to improve the quality of life for police officers and their
families :
- During
2000, professionally-trained Police Welfare Officers at the six
regional offices handled 4 521 casework interviews ¡X 1 406 of them
new cases ¡X that included 6 582 home and hospital visits to help
solve a wide range of problems affecting the officers.
¡@
- The
Psychological Services Group provided 1 995 professional counselling
consultations and educational services for officers and their
families. Stress management training has been extended to a number of
units, including the PTU, and the Group is developing further packages
on conflict management and other psychological skills in police work.
A new Hong Kong office located on Leighton Road was opened in October.
¡@
- To
encourage JPOs to pursue private studies relevant to their duties, the
Police Welfare Fund made grants available that assisted 96 officers to
complete a degree or diploma course.
¡@
- Family
Life Education Programmes and Support Groups for health-impaired
officers were organised regularly to help officers and their families
understand and overcome any problems at home or work.
¡@
- Retirement
Preparation Courses including a job placement service were organised
regularly for officers approaching retirement. Some 166 officers
attended the courses during the year and 83 officers were successfully
placed in jobs.
¡@
- In
1999/2000, the two Police Education Trusts awarded almost $6 million
in bursaries to 1 599 children of regular and auxiliary police
officers and scholarships to nine students with outstanding academic
performance in public examinations.
¡@
- The
Police Welfare Fund sponsored 12 children of JPOs and Inspectorate
Officers to attend short courses overseas on language, conservation
and cultural exchange programmes during the summer vacation.
¡@
- The
Central Fund Scheme for the JPOs and the Family Protection Fund for
Inspectorate Officers and above and their civilian counterparts
continued to provide financial assistance to the families of Force
members who had died or been permanently incapacitated in service.
¡@
- As
at the end of 2000, the Police Quartering Division was responsible for
11 766 Departmental Quarters, including 10 967 for JPOs, 591 for
Inspectorate Officers and 208 operational/post-tied quarters.
Awards
In
2000, three officers were awarded the Hong Kong Police Medal for
Distinguished Service and 26 officers the Hong Kong Police Medal for
Meritorious Service. One officer received the Medal of Honour and one
received the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government Service.
Hong Kong Police Long Service Medals were awarded to 1 335 officers after
18 years of continuous police service; 1 141 officers were awarded the 1st
Clasp to the Medal after 25 years' service; 316 officers were awarded the
2nd Clasp after 30 years' service; and 277 officers were awarded the 3rd
Clasp after 33 years' service. Some 294 officers received the Long Service
Travel Award.
Among civilians, 171 staff were awarded the Long and Meritorious Service
Certificates and 22 received the Long Service Travel Award.
Training
Wing
Higher
Training
Junior
Command Course ¡X attended by Inspectors or Senior Inspectors
with four to seven years' service in the rank, is a three-week course
designed to enhance personal and professional development and to prepare
them for the rank of Chief Inspector.
Intermediate Command Course ¡X a three-week course for
newly promoted Chief Inspectors, which focuses on personal and
professional development. Participants may also take associated studies
leading to the award of tertiary qualifications from the University of
Hong Kong. More than 80 Chief Inspectors have graduated, so far, with a
Diploma in Personnel Management & Public Administration.
Senior Command Course ¡X a course for Superintendents
designed to strengthen their managerial and professional skills.
Participants can gain accreditation to take further studies in Public
Administration at Doctoral, Masters, Diploma and Certificate level with
universities locally and overseas.
Information Technology Training Centre (ITTC) ¡X With
force-wide implementation of information technology and the introduction
of various computerised systems developed in-house, ITTC has assumed an
increasingly significant role in terms of training. The mission of the
Centre is to ensure users fully understand and utilise the capabilities of
the various computerised systems.
The Centre constantly reviews and updates its training systems in line
with developing technology and the needs of the Force. Looking ahead,
computer-based training (CBT) is being developed with a view to better
utilise resources and to increase the effectiveness of teaching methods.
Pioneer experimental projects on CBT are being tested on the POlice
INTranet (POINT).
Police Driving School ¡X All police drivers are trained to
a strict doctrine of defensive driving techniques that take account of
operational needs without compromising safety. In the past three years,
the school has placed greater emphasis on driver attitude and education
rather than purely skills-based instruction. A comprehensive testing and
revalidation licensing process that ensures all police drivers demonstrate
a safe and courteous example on the roads of Hong Kong reinforce this
philosophy.
Weapons Training ¡X Firearms and Tactics Training ¡X The
Force has introduced a specialised weapons training system that uses
computerised interactive imagery for target practice and tactics
development. The sophisticated system has already attracted the attention
of other police forces in South East Asia, which plan to adapt it to their
own training programmes. As a further example of inter-regional
co-operation, the Hong Kong Police Force hosted representatives from
Shenzhen PSB and the Singapore Police Force for a firearm
instructor-training course. The courses also catered for local partners in
the other disciplined services.
Auxiliary Training ¡X In accordance with the revised role
of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force (HKAPF), the ultimate strength of
the HKAPF will gradually decrease to 4 500 through natural wastage.
However, to maintain regeneration, up to 150 constables will be recruited
each year to undergo basic training, and promotion courses will continue
to be run when vacancies arise. All serving auxiliaries attend weeklong
annual training camps that take place throughout the year.
Detective Training School (DTS) ¡X While detective training
remains the core business of DTS, its role has widened to cover the needs
for criminal investigation skills among other government departments as
well as other police forces. In 2000, DTS provided training for Macanese
police officers and personnel from the Education Department, Environmental
Protection Department and Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal
Data, Hong Kong amongst others.
Despite the need to extend its services while keeping costs down, DTS
managed to achieve a record training output without increases in manpower
and other resources. As a consequence, Force Management nominated DTS to
participate in the Productivity Achievement Awards Competition organised
by the Government's Efficiency Unit.
DTS has successfully applied to have its Standard Criminal Investigation
Course accredited to the Diploma in Criminal Justice offered by the
University of Hong Kong. This is seen as a means to encourage officers to
pursue life-long learning.
|