HONGKONG POLICING SYSTEM

Logo of the Hong Kong

Police Force
Motto
We Serve with Pride and
Care

The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), also
known as the Hong Kong Police (HKP), is the
largest disciplined service under the
Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the
world's second, and Asia's first, police
agency to operate with a modern policing
system It was formed on 1 May 1844 by the
British Hong Kong government with a
strength of 32 officers. In 1969, Queen
Elizabeth II granted the 'Royal' prefix and the
HKPF became the "Royal Hong Kong Police
Force". Following the transfer of sovereignty
in 1997, the Royal Hong Kong Police Force
was renamed Hong Kong Police Force.[2]
History

The ethnic composition of the inaugural force

consisted of mixed Chinese, European nationals
or Indians.[1] Policemen from different ethnic
groups were assigned a different alphabetical
letter before their batch numbers: "A" for
Europeans, "B" for Indians, "C" for local
Chinese who spoke Cantonese, and "D" for
Chinese recruited from Shandong Province.
"E" was later assigned to White Russians who
arrived from Siberia after the Russian Civil War.
 The current Commissioner of Police is
Stephen Lo Wai-chung.[3] Including the
Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force and civil
servants, the force consists of about 40,000
personnel; which gives Hong Kong the second
highest police officer/citizen ratio in the world
as of 2014. In addition, the Marine Region with
about 3,000 officers and a fleet of 143 vessels,
is the largest of any civil police force.
The Hong Kong Police has been serving
Hong Kong since shortly after the island was
established as a colony in 1841. On 30 April 1841,
12 weeks after the British landed in Hong Kong,
Captain Charles Elliot established a police force in
the new colony. The first chief of police was
Captain William Caine, who also served as the
Chief Magistrate.[7]
The recruitment of Europeans to the force ceased
in 1994, and in 1995 the Hong Kong Police
became responsible for patrolling the boundary
with China. Prior to 1995, the British Army was
responsible for border patrol. 1997 saw Britain's
return of the sovereignty of Hong Kong to
mainland China. The Force played a prominent
role in the handover celebrations and continues to
perform flag raising ceremonial duties to this day.
Structure

The Force is commanded by the Commissioner

of Police, who is assisted by two deputy
commissioners; a "Deputy Commissioner
Operations" supervises all operational
matters including crime and a "Deputy
Commissioner Management" is responsible
for the direction and co-ordination of force
management including personnel, training,
and management services.
For day-to-day policing (Operations), the
Force is organized into six regions:

Hong Kong Island

Kowloon East
Kowloon West
New Territories North
New Territories South
Marine Region
The Force Headquarters (Management) is
made up of five departments:

Operations & Support

Crime & Security
Personnel & Training
Management Services
Finance, Administration and Planning
Department (Operations and Support)

Police Force operational matters are coordinated by the

Operations & Support Department. Land Operations and
Support are divided into six regions, whereas marine matters
are managed by the marine police organized as one Marine
Region. Each land region comprises two wings, the operations
wing and support wing, and a traffic headquarters (which is part
of the operations wing). The department is charged with the
formulation and implementation of policies, the monitoring of
activities and the efficient deployment of personnel and
resources. Operations Wing coordinates counter terrorism,
internal security, anti illegal-immigration measures, bomb
disposal commitments and contingency planning for natural
disastersthey are also responsible for the Police Dog Unit.
A Operations Wing

The Operations Wing consists of three sections:

Operations Bureau, the Police Tactical Unit and the
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau.
Operations Bureau: Comprises the Operations
Division, the Counter-Terrorism and Internal Security
Division, and the Key Points and Search Division
which includes the Police Dog Unit. It deals mainly
with the staffing of operational matters which include
the formulation and dissemination of relevant Force
orders, boundary security, deployment of resources
and liaison with the Hong Kong garrison.
 Operations Division
Regional Command and Control Centre provides the means for
exercising control over resources both at regional and district levels. It
also acts as an information centre for the passage of information to the
Headquarters CCC and other agencies. Equipped with the Enhanced
Computer Assisted Command and Control System, each Centre receives
999 calls from the public and provides a fast and efficient service to
operational officers.
Emergency Unit comprises the ordinary uniformed policemen. The unit
is primarily tasked with regular patrol beats as well as providing quick
responses to emergency situations such as 999 calls, as well as a speedy
and additional presence of uniformed police on the ground to combat
crime. An EU comprises a headquarters element and four platoons which
operate on a three-shift basis.