He also expressed confidence that members of the Force will take up new challenges and continue providing a better service to the community.

The Commissioner said: "I'm very grateful to all members of the Force, both regulars and auxiliaries, as well as civilian staff, for the support they have given me as Deputy Commissioner in the past three years. The Force has done an excellent job, both in terms of law enforcement and management of the organisation. Notwithstanding the pressures brought about by budget cuts, every Force member remains committed to their duties and endeavours to maintain Hong Kong as one of the safest places in the world.

"In the next few years, the Force will face a major test, as new challenges emerge. However, I remain confident that members of the Force, just as they have done in the past, will remain committed to their work, and meet all challenges with professionalism and great determination.

"I firmly believe that openness and frank communication will be key to solving issues together. I assure you that your views will be carefully considered. In the next few months, I'll be visiting Regions and Units to listen to your views, and I look forward to receiving your continued support."

Highlighting his priorities, Mr Lee said that strengthening internal communication, boosting ties with international and Mainland law enforcement agencies, cracking down on organised crime and international terrorism, tackling budget constraint problems, and maintaining staff morale will take precedence.

Open door policy

Mr Lee maintains that sharing his views and being open with staff are essential to assuring the synergy of police services.

"I have met staff associations to explain my views on the future development of the Force. I welcome any suggestions or recommendations they may have. Internal communication is very important in such a big organisation like the Hong Kong Police Force.

"I will also liaise closely with my senior staff in order to explain my views on current management issues and Force operations and establish their opinions and suggestions on future development."

Cracking down on organised crime

The Commissioner pointed out that closer communication with overseas counterparts would further help combating organised crime and international terrorism.

With Hong Kong being an international city, there is always the risk of having international organised crime syndicates operating here. "So we need to equip ourselves for this, learning from and co-operating more with our overseas counterparts," Mr Lee noted.

Mr Lee said that although there is no direct threat to Hong Kong, international terrorism, like organised crime, is another issue that must be taken seriously.

"We've thousands of people coming here from all over the world every day. There is a need for the Force to maintain a close relationship with overseas counterparts for exchanging intelligence and tackling terrorism."

This co-operation has also extended to training, and Mr Lee expects to see ties with the Mainland strengthen further.

Leaner times ahead

Mr Lee sees budget cuts as one of his biggest challenges over the next few years.

"We need to re-organise ourselves, re-engineer our work procedures and re-prioritise our responsibilities to provide a better service to the community. We are looking at a possible 11 per cent cut in our budget in the next five years. At the moment we have plans to reduce the size of our support staff, so that we will not have to touch manpower on the frontline. Inevitably however, when it becomes too difficult, frontline services may be affected," he noted.

To offset this, Mr Lee said the Force would look at reorganising some units.

"There are some areas where we are providing services, yet they do not fall into the Police Force's sphere of responsibility. These jobs will eventually have to go back to their owners.

"There will be a review. We are confident that in the next two years we will be able to meet the Government's requirements, without seriously affecting our frontline services."

Maintaining staff morale

Another serious issue that may be brought about by budget cuts is staff morale. Notwithstanding great improvement to officers' working environment and equipment in recent years, Mr Lee said the maintenance of staff morale would need to be addressed and that this would be another high priority for him.

"The Government is reducing benefits for civil servants - salaries will be cut and the granting of certain allowances is being reviewed. Maintaining high spirit amongst our staff in the next couple of years will therefore be a challenge.

"I will enhance internal communication to explain our strategies and policies so that staff understand the direction in which the Force is headed, and so that we in senior management understand their problems."

The Force has invested in, and improved greatly, its IT resources, human-resources management and service quality in recent years.

"It is time to consolidate ourselves, review what we have done and look at the future direction to see whether it is necessary to continue on this path or whether it is necessary to change course direction so as to render ourselves more efficient and cost-effective," he said.