Assistant Commissioner (Crime) John Ribeiro is delighted that the Mentorship Programme had been put in place successfully in response to a recommendation made in early 2011 by the Force Study Team on Recruitment and Retention of Crime Officers at District Level on the development of crime stream manpower.  

 

New Territories North Regional Commander Kwok Ho-fai, who previously oversaw the Mentorship Programme, is thankful to Formations for their support for the programme and Mentors for grooming new blood and perpetuating the professionalism of crime busters. 

 

Following completion of the first wave of the programme, the second wave, launched in July 2013, is at full swing. So far, the programme has built up a big family comprising a management team of 14 officers and 26 Mentor I/C (at ranks from Detective Station Sergeant to Superintendent), 187 Mentors (Detective Sergeant and Police Constable) and 315 Mentees.

 

One of the Mentees graduating from the SCIC, Police Constable (PC) Lai Pui-yan from District Investigation Team Kwun Tong, pulled off the highest academic achievement by scoring almost full marks (98.5) in an exam. On crime work, she said: "Crime duties are challenging and demanding, but I can find immense job satisfaction during the process.  In the nine-week detective training, I was exposed to a wide spectrum of investigation knowledge and skills, which have strengthened my confidence and professionalism in crime investigation.  I want to thank my Mentor for coaching me at her own time."

 

PC Lai's Mentor, Sergeant Cheng Oi-ha from Special Duties Squad Mong Kok District has this to say about her Mentee: "Ah Yan has demonstrated the essential qualities of a good detective - drive and a good attitude towards learning. In my spare time, I often shared with her my experiences as an investigation officer and techniques in tackling different types of cases."

 

 

The Head Mentor, Superintendent (SP) Yuen Suet-fan from Crime Wing described the Mentorship Programme as "a catalyst" for the development of junior crime officers because Mentors had different police backgrounds and extensive experiences in crime investigation, which have created a good knowledge and experience sharing network in support of Mentees and paved for them the way for a career in the crime stream.   

 

SP Yau Nai-keung from Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, who is one of the key coordinators for training and liaison in the Programme, said: "In the past, a wide variety of mentorship activities were organised, such as visits to crime units, knowledge sharing forums and workshops on interview techniques, exhibits handling, giving evidence in court, and intelligence gathering. In addition, individual Mentors organised informal gatherings to enhance the cohesion and communication among groups."  

 

Another key training and liaison member, SP Chau Hin-hung from Crime Kowloon East Region, pointed out that activities were specifically devised to lay a solid foundation for Mentees.  

 

 

Apart from imparting the fine traditions of crime investigation to Mentees, Mentors also help project the professional image of crime officers and the Force to the public.  In September last year, Deputy Head Mentor, SP Lo Ting-hei from Crime Wing, together with Assistant Head Mentor, Senior Inspector (SIP) Cheung Hang-fai from Narcotics Bureau, Mentor I/C SIP Hau Lai-man from Crime Wing and Mentee PC Tsang Ching-mei from District Investigation Team Yau Tsim District, attended a radio programme - "Gimme 5 JPC" - hosted by Radio Television Hong Kong and Junior Police Call, and spoke on crime investigation and the qualities and duties of a crime officer.

 

The second wave of the Mentorship Programme will aim to recruit 200 Mentees by the end of this year. To promote the objectives of the programme, a webpage will be accessible via the e-Platform of Crime Wing.