CP reviews Passing-out Parade at Police College (with photo)

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Lee Ming-kwai, today (January 13) inspected a passing-out parade of probationary inspectors and recruit police constables at the Hong Kong Police College as the reviewing officer.

In delivering his speech, Mr Lee pointed out that police officers often faced great pressure and stress due to the dangerous and arduous nature of the work they undertook.

He said that one option to handle this stress and pressure was to follow what he called the "middle road", which involved striking the correct equilibrium or balance in life and work.

"This does not mean taking a casual and relaxed attitude toward your work. It means that in your private lives you should maintain a balanced diet and participate in sports and other worthwhile activities to develop a sound mind and healthy body.

"At work before making decisions, consider the legal position and the right course of action based on the situation, focus on priority areas and make full use of the resources available to you.

"It is not easy to find the appropriate equilibrium between life and work, This can only be ascertained by yourselves, based on your own aspirations and what you want to take from each," he said.

Moreover, Mr Lee mentioned the literal translation of the four Chinese characters that had the same meaning - Honesty, Tolerance, Knowledge and Progress.

"Honesty requires you to display an honest and sincere character and to be fair and just at work.

"Tolerance requires you to be tolerant towards others. Be as broad-minded as possible in the course of your duty, listen to the views of others in order that you can respond to the changing demands of different times and situations.

"Yearn for knowledge and adopt the principle of life-long learning to develop your strengths and correct your weaknesses.

"Progress by conducting regular reviews of your work and life and always try your best to strive for excellence," he said.

Noting that the four qualities had been covered in the basic training for the graduating officers, he urged them to apply the qualities in their daily lives and work to serve as a role model for the public to follow.

Meanwhile, Mr Lee noted that community aspirations continued to grow in Hong Kong in terms of the standards of service that were expected from public service organisations.

He said that the public had high expectations of the Force and that its continuous efforts to enhance service quality had received considerable public acclaim, as revealed by a number of recent public surveys which showed that the local community were very satisfied with the service provided to them by the Police.

Mr Lee added that this reflected their confidence in the Force and recognised the positive effect of the Force transformation into a modern customer-orientated police service.

Upon leaving the Force after more than a third of a century of service, Mr Lee said: "I thank all of my colleagues over the years for your consistent support of the Force and me.

"In the years to come, I have full confidence in the Force and deeply believe that serving officers, under the leadership of Mr Tang King-shing, will continue to uphold our fine traditions, build upon our strengths and overcome the challenges they will face in the future," he added.

A total of 13 probationary inspectors and 202 recruit constables passed out today.


Police Report No. 2

Issued by PPRB

Ends/Saturday, January 13, 2007