This year, SRG will continue promoting a partnership culture with Force members and Staff Associations in sustaining good relations and high morale.

In an interview with OffBeat, SRG Senior Superintendent Anthony Wong Wai-fung said: "Force members are most welcome to reflect their views and suggestions to the management. They may contact their Training and Staff Relations Officers (TSROs), speak to their Staff Associations, or even drop me an e-mail. I will be happy to answer them right away.

"Staff relations work is becoming increasingly important, as the Force faces numerous challenges ahead, like budget cuts and review of allowances. Officers at all levels should be united to cope with changes positively and professionally.

"To meet with future challenges, the Group would continue working closely with Staff Associations to maintain the professionalism and good public image of the Force."

Professional training, personal development and family education are the three main focuses of SRG this year. Mr Wong said: "We strive to nurture and promote a culture of continuous learning and life-long education in the Force, as well as to encourage Force members to lead a healthy family life in addition to their work."

SRG treasures every opportunity to collect views from Force members. Its monthly meetings with TSROs and subject officers serve as an important channel for communication on Force policies and new Force procedures.

Activities prove popular

With the support and participation of TSROs and the Staff Associations, SRG's activities have proven to be popular with Force members. Some Staff Associations, including the Local Inspectors' Association and Junior Police Officers' Association, also praised the SRG's assistance in their annual reports for 2003.

In recognition of the Group's commitment to improving service excellence, the SRG was awarded the Champion of the Force Service Quality Award 2003/04 as well as the Best Performance Award and Merit Award of the Force Slogan Design Competition.

In 2003, SRG joined hands with Staff Associations in organising a series of activities for Force members, such as study tours to Beijing University and Jinan University.

Chief Inspector Gilbert Wong Kwong-hing said: "Apart from study tours, SRG will this year organise seminars on prudent financial management, overseas education seminar, physical health awareness fun day and mental health awareness seminar.

"Force members can now update themselves on SRG's activities through the SRG's Homepage on POINT."

Promoting financial prudence

Addressing the issue of Force members' indebtedness is also an important work for SRG. Their hard work has paid off as bankruptcy cases involving police officers have dropped for the first time since 2000. The number of new cases of Officers with Unmanageable Debts (OUD) dropped to 53 in 2003 from 130 in 2002. At the same time, the number of officers adjudged bankrupt by court decreased to 33 in 2003, a 60 per cent drop compared with the year before.

Superintendent Sandy Chan Chiu-ying, who is responsible for promoting a culture of financial prudence in the Force, said the increasing awareness among officers as well as their willingness in seeking help had contributed to improving the indebtedness situation.

Senior Superintendent Anthony Wong said: "Some officers might have a misconception that disclosure of their financial problems will automatically lead to dismissals and are therefore afraid of seeking help. In fact, evidence has shown otherwise. Seeking early help is the solution to financial problems."

Echoing his views, Ms Chan said: "Amongst the 55 concluded disciplinary hearings arising from indebtedness in 2003, 22 officers (40 per cent) were given terminatory awards whereas the rest of them (60 per cent) received lower level punishments and continued their service in the Force.

"The management will look into every case on an individual basis, including how the officer has incurred the debts, before deciding on the appropriate actions."

The Working Group on the Prevention and Management of Police Indebtedness, chaired by Mr Anthony Wong and comprising representatives from the Psychological Services Group (PSG), Welfare Services Group (WSG), Discipline Section, TSROs and representatives from Staff Associations, has hammered out a series of initiatives to help OUDs. These include an SRG Financial Helpline to encourage officers to seek help without identifying themselves, and a special loan scheme with the Police Credit Union for OUDs.

Ms Chan said: "In addition to organising a series of seminars on prudent financial management with Staff Associations, WSG, PSG and financial analysts, we plan to invite former OUDs to share their experience with others."

SRG plans to conduct another round of outreach visits to major formations in the coming months. While the visits in the past year focused on frontline managers ranging from Non-commissioned Officers to Senior Inspectors, the upcoming visits will cover the middle management from Chief Inspectors to Superintendents.

SRG has put information on all activities on POINT