Disclosure of UI Number

1. There are currently no police orders or guidelines setting out the circumstances under which police officers should identify themselves by their police unique identification (UI) numbers.

2. A police officer should provide sufficient information to a member of the public so that the latter can fully and conveniently identify the officer concerned. If a specific request is made for the officer's UI number, and if the request is not unreasonable, the officer concerned should provide his UI number to the member of the public requesting for such information.

3. The reasonableness of a request would be a matter of judgment for the officer receiving the request. If an officer decides not to provide UI number upon request, he or she should be prepared to justify the decision to adopt this course of action.

(This column is contributed by the Complaints and Internal Investigations Branch)