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The first course on sign language for police officers was organised in late April in the Wong Tai Sin Police Station with the help of the Hong Kong Society for the Deaf . . . MORE than 20 police officers and civilian staff of the district sacrificed their lunch hours to join the 10-week elementary course which was jointly conducted by instructors from the Society with the Wong Tai Sin Staff Relation Office. "We learned the basics of sign language in areas such as daily conversation, names of places and colours," said Assistant District Staff Relation Officer of Wong Tai Sin, Kristian Leung. "Besides giving lectures, the Society also sent some of its members to the class so that we could practise what we'd learned with them," Station Sergeant Leung said. "Most of us completed the course and were presented with certificates. Our newly acquired skills have become a valuable tool when dealing with deaf and dumb people seeking police help, aiding us with investigations, or those who are arrested." WPC Kitty Leung, one of the officers enrolled in the course, added: "Deaf and dumb people find sign language more comfortable than writing as far as communication is concerned, and have more confidence in police officers who can 'speak their language'. That makes our job easier." Fung Choi-wan, another WPC said: "Sign language is quite a skill to master since there are variances between different persons doing the same gesture. There are even gestures unique to a specific group of deaf people. You have to 'read' between the lines very carefully to avoid misunderstandings." Ms Fung added: "To get something deeper across to another deaf person, you need to apply more sophisticated skills and employ body language as well as facial expressions. I would now like to join an advanced course and improve my skills." There has been strong demand for sign language courses among government departments and other organisations. "The keen support showed by staff of Wong Tai Sin District encouraged the Staff Relation Office to join with the Hong Kong Society for the Deaf to organise another elementary course for officers in the district in September and an advanced one in April 1999," said Kristian Leung. |
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THE overall crime situation has remained stable
in the 12 months following the transition in July 1997 with fewer offences being reported, said
Director of Crime and Security, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Lau Yuk-kuen shortly
after the first anniversary of Hong Kong's transfer of sovereignty on July 1.
Mr Lau notes that compared with the 12 months before the transition, the total number of crimes recorded in the post-handover year had dropped by 7.6 per cent, from 72,426 to 66,908 cases, with violent crimes falling by 4.4 per cent. Nevertheless, Mr Lau noted that the numbers for most sorts of crime in recent months showed that they were no longer continuing to shrink as fast as the earlier trend. "Obviously, with less crimes overall, most have dropped but equally over the last few months the rates have levelled out and marginal increases have been seen in the monthly figures for missing motor vehicles and some types of assault cases," he said. "A comparison of figures in the first months of this year with those in the same period in 1997 suggests that the previous pattern of falling crime rates has now come to an end," he said. Although, he said, the crime rate had remained at a very low level, it would be unrealistic to presume that it could drop very much lower than it was at present, and that the police would closely analyse any rise and tackle it appropriately. "Members of the public can be assured that Hong Kong continues to be one of the safest and most stable cities in the world while Hong Kong's stability relies very much on good law and order," he said. On Hong Kong's liaison with overseas law enforcement agencies, Mr Lau reiterated that the connections had remained after the Handover. "The only change is that Hong Kong's relationship to Interpol is now as a sub-bureau of the China National Central Bureau instead of a sub-bureau of the United Kingdom." Noting that street-level frauds continued to occur, Mr Lau said that publicity had been stepped up to arouse public awareness against such crimes and that the victims should report such cases to the police. On the police involvement during the visits by Presidents Jiang Zemin and Bill Clinton, Mr Lau said he was satisfied with the performance displayed and commended colleagues for their hard work in taking on such a difficult task. | |
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 Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa greeting HKSAR's young Fight Crime Ambassadors |
TUNG Chee Hwa, recently congratulated the
10 winners of the "Help the Police Fight Youth Crime Competition 1998", who have embarked
on overseas trips as the Hong Kong Special Adminstrative Region's fight crime ambassadors.
The winners, led by the Commissioner of Police Eddie Hui Ki-on, met Mr Tung at the Chief Executive's Office where he encouraged them to be well-prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. |
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The fight youth crime competition was organised by the police to raise young people's fight crime awareness and to tap their ideas on how best to tackle juvenile crime and drug abuse. It is sponsored by Hang Seng Bank and Qantas Airways Limited. TVB, the co-organiser of the competition, organised a fight crime telecast with performances by well-known artistes. The competition (divided into five individual and one school categories) is open to secondary and tertiary students and working youths. A record 19,000 entries was received this year. In addition, a fight crime bookmark design competition is open to primary school students. The top winners and first runners-up of the five individual groups - two young men and eight young women - were awarded trips to Australia and Singapore. The first-prize winners are: Chan Wing-yi, Tse Ho-ting, Choi Yin-han, Chik Ka-man and Leung Wing-hung who are currently visiting Sydney and Melbourne until July 30. The first runners-up, Lee Wai-chi, Ma Sze-wan, Hui Wun-fung, Kwok Yee-shan and Au Ka-pik will tour Singapore between August 10 and 15. Apart from sightseeing and making new friends, the two groups will visit police formations and community organisations in the two places. | |
