Finance, Administration & Planning

      In 2002, the Finance Wing continued its policy of encouraging a greater sense of responsibility in the management of financial resources to achieve cost effectiveness. There were significant achievements in this regard. Our priorities for the future are to achieve the overall target of Efficiency Savings by 2006/07, and to continue delegating financial authority to our budget holders.

      The aim of the Administration Wing in 2002 was to provide a suitable Human Resource Management framework for civilian staff and to motivate them to work capably to provide effective support for Police operations. We successfully explored cost-effective measures to deliver service and promoted good civilian staff relations. As for future priorities, we will continue to cultivate maximum responsiveness to changes, to maintain staff morale, and to ensure effective communications.

      Over the year, the Planning and Development Branch continued with the Force's major building programme, in the forefront of which is the construction of a new Police Headquarters that is scheduled for completion in April 2004. This complex will be an intelligent building designed to be efficient, user friendly, and energy efficient. The new Headquarters forms part of our overall objective to achieve greater efficiency by combining facilities and maximising IT development through the implementation of the intelligent building concept. All capital works building projects proceeded smoothly during the year and we expect the original target dates for completion to be met.

Finance Wing

2002/03 Financial Result

      For the financial year ending March 31, 2003, the total expenditure of the Force was estimated to be $12.3 billion, amounting to about 5 per cent of the Government's total budget for the year. Of this allocation, salaries and allowances account for about $10.8 billion, with the rest going towards departmental expenses and capital items. Fines, penalties and other fees and charges are expected to produce about $375 million in revenue

Enhanced Productivity Programme

      Under a three-year programme (2000/01 to 2002/03), the Force has achieved savings of $260 million for 2002/03 and met the prescribed target of 2 per cent of recurrent expenditure. We have achieved the overall target of 5 per cent cumulative savings by 2002/03.

One-line Vote

      The Force has been a 'one-line vote' department since 1999/2000. Expenditures under various traditional sub-heads are now pooled under the sub-head of operational expenses. Subject to prescribed conditions, the Force has the flexibility to vire funds between categories under this sub-head without having to seek prior approval. This arrangement has facilitated decision making in resource management considerably. For the financial year ending March 31, 2003, this flexibility was invoked for some $70 million of departmental expenditure.

Administration Wing

Civilian Administration

      For the performance of duties that do not require the exercise of constabulary powers, the Force has a civilian establishment of over 5,600. They are deployed throughout the Force to provide administrative, secretarial and technical support services to Police operations.

Administrative Initiatives

      Under the Government's biliterate and trilingual policy, Putonghua ceased to qualify for the payment of dialect allowance for new appointees to the Police Translator Grade after March 28, 2002. For serving Police Translators, the allowance will be withdrawn with effect from November 1, 2003. The payment of dialect allowance to Chinese minor dialects was also rationalised beginning from May 1, 2002. Officers will now receive the allowance at a rate that refers to the total number of hours of interpretation services performed for the dialect.

      As part of our initiatives to develop human resources management, we plan to extend the performance appraisal system to Model Scale I staff. Forms and guidelines are under preparation for implementation in mid-2003. We have used on-line applications in staff recruitment since August 2002. The first recruitment exercise using on-line applications was the employment of Non Civil Service Contract Assistant Information Technology Officers. Some 75 per cent of the 430 applications were received on-line.

Planning and Development Branch

       In addition to the new Police Headquarters, other building projects during the year included a new Police Dog and Force Search Unit complex in Sha Ling, New Territories, which is due for completion in September 2003. The Disneyland Theme Park being built at Penny's Bay, Lantau makes provision for a new Police Post, which is scheduled for completion in late 2004. Also being constructed is a new purpose-built regional police headquarters and operational base for the New Territories South Region. This complex will be completed in late 2005. Similar regional headquarter complexes for other police regions are in the early planning stages. A new Marine Police Outer Waters District and North Division Base at Ma Liu Shui is at an advanced stage of planning.

      The force-wide Station Improvement Project, which demonstrates our focus on quality customer service through the provision of modern, high profile report rooms and public interface areas for all divisional police stations, was completed at the end of 2002. At the same time, work to upgrade changing room facilities and resource centres to facilitate officers' development and learning continued. This work is due for completion in mid-2003. Security at all police stations continued to be enhanced by the ongoing implementation of the Automated Station Security System. Access to police facilities by pedestrians and vehicular traffic will be by means of 'smart card' technology. Installation of this system will also result in manpower savings.

      In conjunction with the rapidly expanding road and rail infrastructure of the HKSAR, facilities are being planned to police the cross-boundary points as well as providing enhanced accommodation to house the Rail Transport District.