The Principal of St Paul's School (Lam Tin), Mrs Helen Sun, recently wrote to the Kowloon East Regional Commander, Mr Mak Man-poon, to express her gratitude for bringing her school closer to the Police.

"Their constant vigilance, surveillance and assistance have provided our staff and our students much needed peace of mind. Their desire to give our students sensible advice through talks and reaching out to their parents through the school are indeed helpful, beneficial and informative," Mrs Sun said in the letter.

Police Sergeants Chan Chuen-kwai and Poon Yiu-man of the Kwun Tong Police District are the two Secondary School Liaison Officers responsible for giving advice to Mrs Sun's school under the programme.

The scheme, launched forcewide in September last year, is designed to maintain a close working relationship among school authorities, social workers and parents in a co-ordinated effort to prevent student involvement in criminal activities.

Mrs Sun said in the letter: "Officers from the Kwun Tong District visited our school last September to inform us of the availability of Police assistance for our school. They are usually the first to offer help when our staff and students are confronted with unfortunate incidents, such as loss of personal belongings, either within or outside the school premises.

"They also give us advice on how to solve problems and call for help, and deal with general matters related to safety among school members."

St Paul's School (Lam Tin) is among the 32 secondary schools in Kwun Tong District which fall under the ambit of Mr Poon and Mr Chan, both of whom serve in the Police Community Relations Office.

Both said that mutual trust between the Police and the school management was essential for preventing students from getting involved in criminal activities.

"We visit the schools regularly to share information, such as the crime trend in the district, with the school authorities so that they know what is going on and come to grips with the problem.

"Through these contacts, we have also established mutual trust which will facilitate our work in handling problems affecting their students," Mr Poon said.

Mr Chan said that most of the problems they had handled were serious violations of school regulations, unruly behaviour and stealing of personal belongings.

"We usually organise various activities to disseminate anti-crime messages, such as school talks, group discussions and visits to detention centres. Emphasis is also placed on both discipline and counselling," he added.

Earlier, Mr Mak Man-poon hosted a lunch reception for 61 secondary school principals in the region to brief them on the Secondary School Liaison Officers Programme.

During the meeting, it was noted that the number of young offenders in Kowloon East dropped from 1,605 in 2000 to 1,438 in 2001, representing a drop of 10.4 per cent.

Various projects, including the School Multi-Agencies Parents (SMP) Project in Sau Mau Ping District; Project Sunshine in Wong Tai Sin District; and Project Embrace in Kwun Tong District for youths at risk were also discussed.

These schemes are designed to help young people to stay away from undesirable characters and boost their self-esteem. Co-operation with the senior staff at secondary schools in promoting the Junior Police Call and the Hong Kong Award for Young People were also stressed.

St. Paul's School (Lam Tin) Principal, Mrs Helen Sun, appreciates the work of two Secondary School Liaison Officers - SGT Poon Yiu-man (first from left) and SGT Chan Chuen-kwai