Published monthly by Kowloon East Crime Headquarters, the bulletin offers tips to investigators on successful prosecutions and has dissected nearly 80 court cases since its publication started in June last year, averaging six to seven cases a month.

It highlights the flaws and successes of past cases which officers can refer to in their assignments.

KE Senior Superintendent (Crime), Philip Choy Kin-cheung, said he believed it has helped boost the number of successful prosecutions.

"We've been seeing a decline in criminal case acquittals in the courts during the past year and though we can not draw an instant conclusion from this, I'm pretty sure it is some sort of evidence the Bulletin is serving its purpose," Mr Choy said.

Top tipsters: SIP Aaron Li and SSP Philip Choy call up the latest KE bulletin

It was vital for officers handling criminal cases to take every opportunity to learn from the experiences of their colleagues, which was just what the bulletin offered.

"That's why we are determined to continue with our publication and to make improvements to it, making it a more useful reference tool to help officers gain more professional knowledge," Mr Choy said.

Owing to its popularity, Crime Bulletin was uploaded on to the Bulletin Board System (Police Headquarters Network) in December to reduce paper consumption and enhance accessibility.

"We've been putting an emphasis on acquittals and looking closely at various aspects of the cases including investigations, arrests, statement taking, court preparation, giving evidence, court verdicts, as well as follow-up work.

"Moreover, we have also been looking at the judgement of senior officers and their instructions to subordinates in handling the cases. This is to see if there was any oversight or non-compliance with police procedures which resulted in the defendant being acquitted by the court."

In fact, the bulletin has been so well received the Region has incorporated it into its sub-unit training days. This now allows all KE formations to receive an hour's briefing during sub-unit training days, concentrating on issues raised in the bulletin.

Mr Choy stressed the bulletin would continue withholding the names of people involved in each case it publishes to encourage all officers to learn from the experience of others and improve their performance. The Bulletin was not meant to be fault-finding.

"To be fair to the officers concerned, we invite them to give their views and explanations concerning the cases they handle. What we would like to publish is an impartial recollection of the cases for the benefit of other officers," he said.

The bulletin working group select cases for discussion during the monthly meeting on criminal matters chaired by the SSP. The cases, together with comments and advice, go to print with the endorsement of the Regional Commander.

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