Hong Kong Police Review 2021

The Force puts great efforts into recruiting high-calibre candidates and providing staff members with suitable staff development opportunities. The aim is to ensure that all staff members are capable of advancing the Force's strategic directions and carrying out their duties in the most professional manner. Members are also encouraged to shoulder social responsibility by participating in voluntary activities in their spare time.

Human Resources

The Force is committed to employing quality candidates through proactive recruitment. Three 'Recruitment Experience and Assessment Days' took place in May, August and December, providing participants with a one-stop selection process and encouraging them to join the Force by holding a wide range of experiential activities at the events.

A speaker from the Recruitment Division introduced police duties and spoke about recruitment procedures in a public talk held on Recruitment Experience and Assessment Day.

A police trainee shared his training experiences with participants during Recruitment Experience and Assessment Day.

In August, the Force also debuted a live broadcast programme, 'Police Recruitment On-air', introducing a creative means of interacting with young people who had queries about police work and the selection process.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee, attended 'Police Recruitment On-air' as its first guest.

A promotional vehicle, the 'Police Mobile Recruitment Station', was deployed between November and December across the territory to serve as a venue for on-the-spot application, selection and recruitment publicity.

The 'Police Mobile Recruitment Station' travelled across the territory to attract more applicants to join the Force.

To address imminent operational requirements and long-term manpower needs, the Force received Government approval to launch the 'Continued Service of Police Officers Beyond Prescribed Retirement Age (CSPO) Scheme' on April 1, 2021, which would extend the service of current non-directorate officers who joined the Government before June 1, 2000, to the age of 60. More than 8,600 officers have applied under the Scheme. The first CSPO selection exercise ended on September 9, 2021, with over 700 applicants approved. The second round of selections will start in early January 2022 to carry on assessing the second batch of applications, totalling more than 600.

Caring Culture and Support

The pivotal role of the Force in maintaining law and order, and its contributions to the fight against COVID-19, was accorded affirmation by the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service in its Grade Structure Review report issued in June. Apart from the increases in the police pay scale for both junior and commanding ranks, new job-related allowances were introduced in December for Force members in recognition of their highly specialised skills and extra responsibilities, be they serving in headquarter units or on the front line.

To facilitate influenza vaccinations for officers, the Force has an arrangement with a medical organisation to provide vaccine injections at various police premises, including the Police Headquarters, Regional Headquarters and divisional police stations. In 2021, the group vaccination service provided 32 sessions that benefited more than 3,740 officers.

The Force arranges for a medical organisation to provide officers with influenza vaccine injections on police premises.

Fan Garden completed its transformation from 1970s staff quarters in 2021. The redeveloped estate in Fanling is now the single largest police married quarters in the history of the Force, with five blocks of 1,184 flats in total. Its occupants, who are junior police officers (JPO) and their families, live in a pleasant environment with spacious outdoor areas and high accessibility. The up-to-date architecture combines ample recreational amenities with environmental-friendly elements such as electric vehicle charging. Under a trial scheme, Fan Garden is also the first JPO quarters allowing officers to keep retired police dogs.

The Welfare Services Group implements the 'WeCare' Project to offer care and support to officers who have experienced serious illness or injury. A health talk on the 'Cancer Prevention Diet' was held at the New Territories South Regional Headquarters in October for Force members to know about cancer prevention.

Members of the Force attended a health talk on the 'Cancer Prevention Diet' organised by the Welfare Services Group and the New Territories South Regional Headquarters.

Project HOPE of the Welfare Services Group promotes positive values and attitudes towards life and the message of seeking help. Under Project HOPE is the programme 'Live Connection', which was launched in September 2020 and extended to 2021. It helps Force members to connect with people of different community networks in order to bolster their support networks, which will serve as crucial and timely resources in coping with challenges in life.

The welfare services programme 'Live Connection' encourages Force members to seek out community networks in order to bolster their support base, which will help them deal with challenges in life.

In 2021, the Force received the 15 Years Plus Caring Organisation Logo from the Hong Kong Council of Social Service in recognition of its contributions to caring for the community, its employees and the environment over the past 16 years. The Personnel Wing is continuing to promote a healthy and caring culture proactively, both within the Force and beyond it.

Reopening of Police Officers' Club

The Police Officers' Club in Causeway Bay was demolished in 2015 to facilitate the construction of the MTR Shatin-to-Central Link. It was rebuilt in situ, completed on May 31, 2021, and officially reopened on November 18. The new Police Officers' Club boasts a wide range of sports and leisure facilities, and is also an ideal venue for meetings and other events.

Psychological Resilience Promotion Programme

The Psychological Services Group continued to conduct a psychological resilience building programme to prepare frontline officers for new challenges facing the Force. The theme for the programme in 2021 was to 'Reconnect', focusing on officers' holistic health, inner peace, quality relationships and meaning of work. Among the activities were a Balances and Wisdom seminar on 'Reconnecting with Significant Others' and a seven-week 'Lifestyle Medicine e-Learning Programme'.

The theme for the 2021 psychological resilience building programme was to 'Reconnect', focusing on officers' holistic health, inner peace, quality relationships and meaning of work.

Social Responsibility Partnerships

The Hong Kong Police Volunteer Services Corps, with its 35 volunteer teams, continued to provide more than 10,000 hours of service to the community in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, despite the Social Welfare Department ending its Volunteer Movement and ceasing the award of voluntary work certificates in the same year.

Many members of the Force also participated in charity events in their spare time, including the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Hong Kong and various activities of the Community Chest.

During the year, 377 units of blood were collected at blood donation activities, while 303 officers registered to donate bone marrow. A total of 23,690 kg of clothing, toys, small appliances and other items were collected for the Salvation Army and Christian Action, with proceeds going to services that care for vulnerable communities.

Hong Kong Police College

Upon enactment of the National Security Law (NSL), the Hong Kong Police College (HKPC) has reviewed its training curriculum and structure to ensure Force members are equipped to fulfil resolutely the responsibility of safeguarding national security. Training programmes covering the NSL and counter-terrorism enforcement have been extended from classroom learning to e-learning on the Force's Central Educational Repository system and to Force Training Days, aiming to reach out to all frontline police officers.

The Police displayed the Chinese foot drill publicly for the first time on National Security Education Day.

During National Security Education Day on April 15 and Constitution Day on December 4, the Force gave a public display of the Chinese foot drill at a training campus of the HKPC to enhance the public's understanding of its work on safeguarding national security. HKPC preparations are in full swing to completely implement the Chinese foot drill and the saluting and flag-raising protocols in all police routines and at ceremonial events of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

A police trainee introduced exhibition content to his audience on National Security Education Day.

Amid the global pandemic, the HKPC is continuing its training collaborations with local and Mainland universities and overseas training institutions via online platforms. These collaborations give the HKPC the opportunity to fully commit to using technology to provide more practicals on professional and technical skills. In addition, the HKPC aims to renovate the Police Museum on The Peak and revitalise it to become a centre of police history and culture by enriching its exhibition content and concept, and adding interactive and information technology features.

The HKPC made further progress after becoming the first Government department to receive 'Programme Area Accreditation' status. In 2021, the HKPC won the Grand Winner Award of the Classified Post HR Appreciation Awards 2020 ('HR Best Practice in Training and Development' Category) hosted by the South China Morning Post and through revalidation received the Global and Hong Kong 'Most Innovative Knowledge Enterprise' Awards.

The Police College won the Grand Winner of the 'HR Appreciation Awards 2020' ('HR Best Practice in Training and Development' Category), hosted by the South China Morning Post (Classified Post), showcasing the recognition given to the Police College's innovative use of technology in training and development programmes.