Force training video wins international award

A training video package developed by the Force for use during Wave V of the Living-the-Values Workshop has won a Bronze Award in the 16th International Galaxy Award Competition. This prestigious competition honours excellence in marketing and communication.


In a letter to the Hong Kong Police Force Service Quality Wing (SQW), congratulating the Force on its achievement in the competition, Mr Reni Witt, President of MerComm. Inc., organiser of the Galaxy Awards scheme, said: "Over 500 entries were received worldwide from 15 countries. We are proud to present your Award Certificate, symbolising the highest achievement in your industry."

Mr Witt went on to say that the International Galaxy Awards scheme represents some of the most illustrious, creative and effective professionals in marketing. The distinguished judging panel consisted of 55 industry leaders drawn from 18 agencies and corporations around the world.

Among the elements considered in the judging process were : how effectively the material met the stated objectives; how well the material was communicated to the designated audience; use of imaginative and original solutions; and overall expression of messages.

"The winners, according to their peers, are considered the best in the world. To be selected for an award by some of the world's best marketing specialists is a real honour, especially considering the hundreds of other fine agencies, corporations, and non-profit organisations eligible for the awards," Mr Witt added.

Besides the training video, the Living-the-Values Workshop itself also won an ISO certification last year when the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA) certified that the workshop complies with the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 quality management system standard in terms of design, development and preparation.

The award-winning training video comprises four episodes each with a special theme, namely, "Self Care and Modelling", "Care and Sensitivity", "Care at Times of Adversity and Critical Incidents", and "Care through mutual understanding and expression of mutual expectations, and to those in need". This video was critical to achieving the workshop's goal of promoting the concept of "Building a Caring Workforce".

The video was produced in-house with input by SQW, Police College, Psychological Services Group, civilian staff and a series of discussions by a Focus Group with wide consultation in the Force, particularly among frontline officers. The story boards and scripts for the scenarios of the four episodes were a joint effort of the parties concerned, with the roles of the actors in the scenarios played by Force members.

So far, the video has been screened in Wave V of the Living-the-Values Workshop for JPOs and inspectorate officers to promote the concept of a caring force. It will be screened again as the workshop for superintendents starts in April.


Meanwhile, the producer, director and two police constables who played different acting roles in the training video, are elated at having won the Galaxy Award.

The producer, Senior Inspector Lam Chi-yin from the Hong Kong Police College, sees the award as "recognition by an international agency that our efforts have achieved the intended objectives".


Reflecting on the production of the training video, Mr Lam said: "As some 50 police officers were recruited to play as 'actors' and 'actresses' in the video, there was a lot of co-ordination work to do. Most importantly, the scripts needed to reflect the real situations frontline officers would come across. Therefore, a lot of time was spent in fine-tuning the scripts so that they would evoke response, reflection and discussions from the audience."

The director of the training video, Tam Yiu-hung, a Production Director from RTHK on attachment to the Police College, said the credit of winning the Galaxy Award goes to "everyone involved in the project".


"It's team work with everyone working for a common goal. Everything that has been done was very professional, including research, storyboards and scripts. The police officers involved are very professional and very quick in adapting to their acting roles," said Mr Tam.

Police Constable Chan Ka-lim from Yau Tsim District and Woman Police Constable Ng So-yan from Emergency Unit, New Territories South, enjoy having played different acting roles in the video. "We haven't done it before; it was a great experience!"

They said they did not have any proper training in acting, and mainly relied on the communication and discussion with everyone involved in the project. "In preparation, we watched more TV dramas; perhaps this may have been of some help," they noted.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Service Quality), Mr Wong Doon-yee regards both the Bronze Award and ISO certification as recognitions of the Force's dedication to professionalism and team work.


Mr Wong pointed out that feedback showed that the training video is capable of generating animated discussions on various issues by the workshop audiences. These discussions lead to learning by workshop attendees and produce many points of learning, which can be studied by Force management for consideration in future programmes.

"All along we've been doing quite a lot in enhancing our service quality, with the ultimate objective of providing better services to the public. Therefore, it's good to see that our efforts have been recognised outside the Force. We'll definitely do more and do better in the future. This collaborative effort in producing the complete story, from conception to the final technical production of a top quality video, is a testament to the quality of ideas and motivation that can be developed within a team of dedicated staff," said Mr Wong.


Police Report No.5

Issued by PPRB

End/Tuesday, February 28, 2006