Crime Wing held a ceremony at Police Headquarters on November 1 to mark the launch of the second wave of the Crime Officer Mentorship Programme. The ceremony saw a new team appointed to join the programme, comprising Head Mentor, Deputy Head Mentor, 12 Assistants, 17 Mentors In-Charge and 106 Mentors. 

 

Assistant Commissioner (Crime) John Ribeiro points out that the first wave of the mentorship programme, which commenced in May 2011, has successfully implemented the recommendation made by the Force Study Team on Recruitment and Retention of Crime Officers at District Level, groomed officers with potential and high calibre to join the crime stream at the early stage of their police career and brought more new blood for crime work. About 30 per cent of Mentees attended the Standard Criminal Investigation Courses and some of them are working in crime units. 

 

At the ceremony, Chief Superintendent (Crime Headquarters) Leung Po-tak presented appointment certificates to the new team.  He had high expectations of the programme, and thanked Formations for their co-operation and support for the programme.  

 

The Head Mentor, Superintendent Yuen Suet-fan, said the Mentor recruitment exercise saw a keen competition, in which 106 Detective Non-commissioned Officers and Constables were selected. In the coming two to four years, they would work hand in hand with Mentors In-Charge to groom Mentees through sharing of knowledge, experience and the job satisfaction of crime work, perpetuating the professionalism of crime investigations. Including members of the first wave, the mentorship programme now has about 430 members.

 

Following the ceremony, a training session was provided for Mentors In-Charge and Mentors. At the session, Mr Kwan Chi-ho, Training Officer of Civil Service Training and Development Institute of Civil Service Bureau, gave a talk on coaching and counselling, and Dr Tsui Pui-wang, Clinical Psychologist of Crime Wing, on communication skills. 

 

At the same time, two Mentors In-Charge, Chief Inspector (CIP) Chan Chiu-chin, Pat Heung Divisional Commander, and CIP Yau Nai-keung from Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, conducted a sharing session on mentorship experience.

 

One of the new Mentors, Detective Sergeant Cheng Chi-pui from Commercial Crime Bureau, says he is eager to pass on his crime experience to Mentees and guide them on how to overcome the challenges of frontline detective work.  

 

Another new Mentor, Woman Detective Police Constable Lau Nga-chi from Hong Kong Island Regional Crime Unit, who is also a Carelinker, points out that under a two-year guidance, Mentees would get a solid foundation in terms of police knowledge and confidence in work.

 

On November 11, the first Mentee recruitment exercise for the second wave was at full swing in Police College and over half of the 207 Recruit Police Constables indicated their wish to become Mentees, showing a great interest in detective work. Eventually 25 of them were selected for the first batch. In the coming two years, 200 more Mentees will be recruited in batches