Sau Mau Ping District (SMPDIST) held "Away Day 2019" on February 12 to enhance the personal and professional qualities of officers, perform an environmental scan of the District and assess the policing challenges to facilitate the formulation of an action plan.

District Social Welfare Officer (Kwun Tong) of the Social Welfare Department Ms Ip Siu-ming and persons-in-charge of three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were invited to share their expertise in the morning session. Ms Ip gave an analysis of the demographic characteristics of the District. She pointed out that Kwun Tong has a high population of elderly, children and youths and a low population of adults. The poor population, often associated with recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, gave rise to many family problems. Then the three speakers from NGOs shared their experience in handling family problems and helping teenagers from low-income families, and talked about the trend of suicide.

The participants said the sharing had not only increased their understanding of the background and condition of residents, but also strengthened their communication and co-operation with community organisations.

The afternoon session was held under the guidance of SMPDIST Commander Wong Kwong-hing. Officers were divided into groups to formulate the framework of SMPDIST Action Plan 2019 with reference to human resource management, staff relations and community relations.

The Away Day provided an opportunity for the participants to think from multiple perspectives and inspire new ideas and constructive suggestions to help SMPDIST meet future challenges.