The Hong Kong Police College opened on January 1, marking the beginning of a new epoch for police training. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, an opening ceremony was held at the College's Aberdeen site on January 6, attracting nearly 200 guests from local and overseas.

In his address at the opening ceremony, Commissioner Lee Ming-kwai said that the Hong Kong Police Force aspired to be not only one of the finest police forces in the world, but also one of the finest police training establishments.

Mr Lee pointed out that the College had developed a four-pronged model to achieve excellence in police training, namely an enriched training syllabus, effective learning methodologies, enhanced training standards and recognition or accreditation by universities and professional bodies. The ultimate goal is to provide officers with a learning ladder that would lead to a culture of lifelong learning.

The Force will forge a collaborative partnership with the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) for delivering two of the 15 modules of the recruit police constable foundation training course, i.e. Psychology in Policing and Social Studies in Policing, with a view to enhancing officers' understanding of the objective and rationale of policing. This arrangement will not only elevate the professional standard and academic status of the course, but also provide trainees with pathways for further study, the provision of which is one of the major objectives of the Police College.

Professor John Leong, President of OUHK, was one of the guests of honour at the opening ceremony. Also speaking at the ceremony, he said that OUHK was much honoured and privileged to join hands with the Force to professionalise police training.

In his vote of thanks, the Director of Police College, Mr Tse Shu-chun, thanked those who have given support to the Police College.

At the ceremony, the Commissioner appointed a number of experienced police officers and external experts as Honorary Associates and Advisers of the College. These experts will share their knowledge and expertise with trainees in the future, and give advice on the development of the College.

After the ceremony, the guests visited an opening exhibition in the Upper Gym, which showed the major achievements of the College in various aspects, as well as its functions and organisation structure.

They were also taken on a guided tour of the training facilities at the Aberdeen site, including the Tactics Training Complex.