Some 20 officers from several formations including the Criminal Intelligence, Narcotics and Commercial Crime Bureaux, along with officers from the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Correctional Services and Immigration Departments, attended the course organised by CIB.

Tailor-made for senior crime managers and supervisors, the course was conducted by Don McDowell who has more than 30-years experience in the intelligence field and hosts similar seminars for police elsewhere, particularly Europe and the United Kingdom.

The 10-day course, the first of its kind in Hong Kong, ran from December 6 and closed with a tea reception on the 17th. It included a one-day workshop for Chief Inspectors and a half day seminar for senior officers to update them on the development of strategic intelligence research and analysis.

It covered a broad concept of strategic intelligence and its application to everyday use in law enforcement agencies, and the development of analytical approaches to assist the decision-making process adopted by senior managers.

Mr McDowell said he prepared the course with a "Hong Kong flavour" taking into consideration the SAR's unique environment and requirements.

"One of the benefits of the course is it gives graduates the skills to carefully scan the criminal environment and find possible threats which may not have been faced before. Looking beyond day-to-day crime is a fairly new idea among law enforcement officers. Take the illegal immigrant situation. Just catching them is a day-to-day job, but it is also important to look ahead into the future and scan for any other possible threats or long-term implications," Mr McDowell said. "The guys here have been very eager to learn, realising how important the topic is and it has already lifted them to another level. It will help put Hong Kong on a par with several European countries, particularly the UK, Holland and Sweden who are world-leaders in using strategic analysis."

Marking the graduation of our first group of locally-trained strategic analysts, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Gordon Fung Siu-yuen and officials from the other departments presented certificates to the graduates at the PTS Officers' Mess tea reception.



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