Force IT Guru says farewell
"Hong Kong has been very good to me and I am exceedingly grateful. I've had a great career with a succession of good, tough, jobs, which have not been everybody's cup of tea but I enjoyed most of them immensely."
So said Assistant Commissioner (Information Systems) Mr Peter Halliday at a Senior Officers Mess function hosted by Commissioner Mr Tsang Yam-pui to say a formal farewell to several senior officers.
OffBeat asked Mr Halliday to give a brief outline of his service and the more memorable postings he had enjoyed. "Thirty-five years is hardly something to be brief about," said Mr Halliday, "but I'll do my best.
"I was in Marine Region for the first four years and then entered the Crime Stream, serving in various divisions and in Police Headquarters. I had a pretty successful time in Wan Chai Division and I think that was what got me promoted to Superintendent."
Mr Halliday then served in PHQ where he became responsible for setting up a research division in the newly formed Criminal Intelligence Bureau. It was concerned with the collation and assessment of criminal intelligence. Later, as Hong Kong Island District special crimes division Superintendent he led a raid on the hideout of a gang of armed robbers.
"The so-called Canton Road armed robbery gang had been located in a Tsuen Wan 'safe house' and I had no doubt that any attempt to gain access would have resulted in the death of several policemen. They were a murderous bunch. Probably the most murderous I have ever met. I decided on a stake-out and wait for one or other of them to come out to buy something or the other. We grabbed one of them as soon as the door was opened and caught the rest of them still in their beds. I think the 13 firearms and 250 rounds of ammunition we seized is still a record haul," said Mr Halliday with satisfaction.
After attending a staff course in 1986, Mr Halliday was posted to Personnel Wing but less than two years later went to Sha Tin District, first as a Deputy District Commander and later as District Commander. He was promoted to Chief Superintendent in 1988 and remained there until 1991.
He then spent the next few years on staff duties. "I remember formulating a Police Property Strategy and setting up a steering group. I think it has been proven appropriate through the test of time," said Mr Halliday. "Anyway, I got promoted to Assistant Commissioner in 1997."
"I spent the rest of my service in Information Systems Wing. I produced the first ever five-year Information Systems Plan. Now we are implementing the second five year plan. And things really have changed. But the real breakthrough was in mid-1999 when I persuaded [the then] Commissioner Mr Eddie Hui to cough up $52 million to enable the Force to migrate to Windows NT. It really opened up a huge range of options in almost every conceivable area," he said.
"Of course after the first computers were installed widely, there was a constant and high level of problems. Managing problems almost became full-time occupation. But after Windows NT and networking from common databases, things really took off. We have an Information System that is the match of any Police force anywhere in the world. Well, some may be somewhat more advanced in a particular application but that holds true for us in many more. As a Force, we had progressed from the position of following others, to actually leading them. But," emphasised Mr Halliday, "the Force must maintain the momentum. It is very easy to fall behind."
Mr Halliday believes that by next year at the very latest, we must upgrade to Windows XP. "If we don't, everything will be slowly lost," he said.
For his outstanding service, Mr Halliday was awarded the Colonial Medal for Meritorious Service in 1980 and the Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 1997. He has been closely involved in scouting. He set up a troop in Sha Tin that only recruited troubled and troublesome youths identified through the Superintendent's Discretion Scheme. "I was delighted when one of them joined the Force recently," he enthused.
Mr Halliday is looking forward to an active retirement. His wife will continue in the Force - Connitta is a Woman Chief Inspector - and his two children are doing well. "They're the 'apples of my eye'," he said.
A final word of advice and encouragement to the colleagues he leaves behind: "You need to develop a passion for whatever job you tackle. With passion anything can be accomplished," he concluded.
Mr Peter Halliday in the party mood