Complaints against police drop

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The Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) has recorded a 9.3 per cent drop in complaints against police received in the first eight months of this year.

Complaints and Internal Investigations Branch Chief Superintendent, Ms Chang Mo-see, revealed that complaints received in the eight-month period had dropped to 2,283 from 2,516 for the same period last year.

"It has to be stressed that the decrease was recorded against the background of an increase in police-public contact," Ms Chang explained.

"Between January and August this year, the number of EPONICS checks increased by 1.3 per cent when compared with the same period last year. Moreover, there was a rise of 19.3 per cent in the number of crime reports as well as a 5.5 per cent increase in the number of people arrested," she noted.

Among the five land regions, Kowloon West has recorded the highest percentage of decrease in complaints - 10.7 per cent from 813 last year to 726 this year. In respect of standard land districts, Tai Po, Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po have achieved the most significant reduction of complaints with 34.5 per cent, 27.7 per cent and 21.1 per cent respectively.

Ms Chang regarded the decrease in complaints as the result of officers having displayed professionalism in handling difficult situation whilst discharging their duties amid the current economic downturn, public discontent, more police-public contacts and higher public expectation of police service standard.

"To arouse awareness of complaint prevention, managers at all levels have repeatedly reminded officers under their command of the need to discharge duties in a proper and polite manner at all times. Formations also closely liaise with CAPO to identify circumstances that have led to complaints and to address them accordingly.

"CAPO officers are often invited to share with frontline officers the practical ways to reduce complaints during formation training days and through various courses such as Standard Criminal Investigation Courses, District Special Duty Squad Courses and General Traffic Courses.

"The reduction in complaints is the result of concerted efforts by all Force members. All officers should keep up the efforts in enhancing our service quality," Ms Chang concluded.

Commenting on the decrease in complaints, the Junior Police Officers' Association Chairman, Mr Lau Kam-wah, said: "The decrease could also be attributed to the Force's on-going efforts in educating frontline officers to be patient and polite at all times.

"At the same time, members of the public are now more aware of the importance of maintaining a harmonious community-police relation," Mr Lau added.

Action Plan in Tai Po

In view of the significant drop in complaints recorded in Tai Po, OffBeat has asked Tai Po District Assistant Commander (Administration), Mr Shing Pui-fun, what has brought about the improvement.

Mr Shing, without any hestitation, attributed the improvement to a multi-faceted Action Plan launched in November last year.

"I am glad to say that as a result of the hard work by everyone in the District, the number of complaints recorded in the first eight months of this year has dropped to 78 from 119 in the same period of 2002, representing a decrease of 34.5 per cent," he noted.

The Action Plan is Mr Shing's brainchild.

"The Action Plan represents our determined efforts to at least reduce, if not stem out, complaints against police. All Crime and Uniformed Branch officers of all ranks at District Headquarters and Divisions are involved in one way or the other in the initiative, and all are pitching in their efforts," Mr Shing said.

The objectives of the initiatives taken under the Action Plan are curbing the number of complaints, and carrying out district-wide activities, both internally and externally, to identify long-term measures to deal with the problem.

A working group chaired by Mr Shing, has been formed to oversee the Action Plan, to monitor progress and to map out new strategies that may be required.

He has instructed all units to adopt a proactive approach to identify the causes of complaints and respond appropriately to prevent their occurrence accordingly. He has also directed that existing policies and tactics should continue to be executed while concerted efforts are made to tackle specific problems that had been identified.

The main features of the Action Plan are three-fold, namely awareness, prevention and education. Efforts are also being made to enlist the support of the district fight crime committee and community organisations, including the estate and building management committees. As there are nearly 200 villages in the rural area within the District, close liaison is also maintained with the Village Representatives.

Mr Shing is pleased with the results of Action Plan.

"I am very glad that everybody is working so hard to support the plan. Their initiatives and concerted efforts are really yielding results," he said.

Action Plan has brought a significant drop in complaints in Tai Po