Vulnerable Witness Support Cadre (VSC), together with Kowloon West (KW) Crime Headquarters, co-organised a workshop on June 7. It was attended by over 100 officers from the KW VSC, Regional Child Abuse Investigation Unit and District Investigation Teams, along with frontline social workers of Social Welfare Department. Experienced trainers in the field, including Senior Superintendent Lee King-hei, Police Clinical Psychologist Fung Ho-kin, together with a representative from Family Conflict and Sexual Violence Policy Unit, briefed the participants on policy updates and interview skills. Members from the Vulnerable Witness and Child Protection Task Force of the Department of Justice, including Senior Public Prosecutor Human Lam, shared their court experience in related cases.

The workshop provided a platform for experience sharing to enhance the officers’ communication skills with vulnerable witnesses so that they could handle cases more professionally, thereby safeguarding the welfare and rights of children during the investigation and prosecution process. Upon imminent implementation of the mandatory reporting mechanism for child abuse, VSC will keep expanding its manpower and provide continuous training to address related challenges.

To enhance the Force’s professional capability in dealing with cases involving abuse of children and mentally incapacitated persons, Crime Wing established VSC in July 2022. Up till June this year, VSC has recruited more than 190 trained members, with over 1 700 video-recorded statements taken.

The workshop enhances officers’ capability in handling cases and communication skills with vulnerable witnesses.