The former Police Training School (PTS) was established in 1948 and over the years had trained over 60 000 police officers. On January 1, 2006, the PTS was upgraded to the Hong Kong Police College (HKPC) and embarked on a new era of professional police training. It was my pleasure and honour to witness this memorable moment in the capacity of the Head of Foundation Training Centre. Though I am going to retire soon and leave the Police Force that I have served for over 30 years, I am delighted to see the changes within the Force. The knowledge-driven learning culture is being promoted amongst Force members and the Force keeps up with the development of knowledge management in society.

 

 

In my over 30 years police career, one-sixth of my service was devoted to police training and development. Hong Kong has experienced many changes over the years and is very different from the old days when I joined the Force. In recent years, social contradictions have increased and the general public have different aspirations and comments on the Government as well as changing expectations of the Force. The challenges ahead for the Force will be immense and thus training of police officers will be more important.

 

Over the past few decades, the PTS was the cradle of all officers of the Force. The HKPC aims at becoming a leading centre of excellence in police training and development in a changing era with an enriched training syllabus, effective learning methodologies, enhanced training standards, and recognition or accreditation by universities and professional bodies.

 

 

To help achieve its visions, I returned to the HKPC as Deputy Director after my promotion and initiated the vocational accreditation development of police training. Vocational accreditation started with a major syllabi review of the Probationary Inspectors (PI) and Recruit Police Constables (RPC) training programmes. Both programmes have been elevated to new professional diploma programmes, with the training quality and functional competencies of the recruits enhanced according to frontline operational needs. The recruits will be more capable of, as well as more confident in, discharging their duties after graduation.

 

In June this year, the "Professional Diploma Programme in Leadership and Management in Policing for Probationary Inspector" and the "Professional Diploma Programme in Policing for Recruit Police Constable" were successfully accredited by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (HKQF) at QF Level 5 (at the same level of a Bachelor's Degree of the academic sector) and Level 4 (at the same level of an Associate Degree or a Higher Diploma). The two programmes have been registered in the Qualifications Register after the successful accreditation. The HKPC, neither a tertiary institution nor a chartered body, is the first training organisation amongst government departments to acquire the accreditation status for operating professional training programmes under the HKQF at Levels 4 and 5. This success underscores the high standard and quality of HKPC's training.

 

The revamped training programmes were critically assessed and passed the objective benchmark under the HKQF. The successful accreditation has enhanced the recognition of police profession in Hong Kong and the international arena, besides the professional image of the Force. Furthermore, the recognition will facilitate lifelong learning and the career development of police officers in the long run. With the successful vocational accreditation, the HKPC will continue to explore opportunities to further improve the programmes and strive for credit exemptions by local and overseas tertiary institutions so that officers would be provided with more motivation and opportunities for pursuing higher qualifications. Drawing reference to the programmes registered under the Qualifications Register, officers can continue to pursue vocational training and self-studies according to their aspirations and the needs of the Force.

 

 

Acquiring vocational accreditation for the PI and RPC training programmes is my final major task prior to retirement. Nevertheless, this is just the beginning and there is still a long way to go on the path of professional training for the Force. I hope the vocational qualifications of police officers would gain more recognition in society. Helping the HKPC become a leading centre of excellence in police training and development relies on the continuous and concerted efforts of all officers.

 

(The article is contributed by Chief Superintendent Chu Ming-po, Shirley, Deputy Director 2 of Hong Kong Police College)