Even the opening ceremony had unexpected connotations of ancient local customs as the cacophony of fireworks that would have undoubtedly heralded the opening of Ping Shan Police Station was replaced by the strident ring of the Tai Hing fire alarm bell inadvertently initiated by the 'Baai Kwan Dai' smoke.

Just as Ping Shan Police Station, which was located at the hub of the newly leased northwestern New Territories rural agricultural scene upon its opening 102 years ago, Tai Hing Operational Base is similarly centred in T NTN's western catchment.

The multi-faceted facility encompasses units from not only T NTN, but also Tuen Mun Division, NTN Emergency Unit, and the Identification Bureau. Run on a cooperative basis, the Tai Hing Operational Base is coordinated by a Management Committee with representatives from all stakeholders, meeting regularly with significant independence to resolve issues within both their own areas of responsibility and common ground.

Being on the periphery of the Strategic Road Network and well served by diverse forms of public transport, Tai Hing is accessible to both the public and police personnel, most of whom will be relieved at no longer having to face the uphill trudge to the old Ping Shan base.

The street-level reporting centre accommodates a supporting complement of on-call traffic accident investigators, and houses four interview rooms and a Drink Driving Evidential Equipment installation.

The facility is provided with a full range of well thought out information technology support with computers enabling the Traffic Offence Management System, the Government Office Automation project, as well as the Common Terminal Access functions.

On the personnel and welfare front, the base is well equipped with a modern and popular resource centre and fitness room to augment the traditional canteen, laundry, barber, and vending machine facilities.

The completely renovated changing rooms provide an air-conditioned environment, with new style individual lockers, drying facilities and hot shower installations that particularly appreciated by traffic officers coming off patrol.

The base has also allowed units that were previously housed in inadequate facilities or outside their area of operations to be more appropriately accommodated. This has seen the West Rail Implementation Team, and the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun Road Safety Officers more efficiently located at Tai Hing.

This accommodation has been further enhanced by the allocation of new style furniture under the current Furniture Replacement Programme. In addition, provision has been made to centrally store the vast quantities of traffic enforcement and control equipment, which previously had to be housed in various locations and makeshift facilities.