DDF Scheme to be tried out in Sham Shui Po,
Tuen Mun
Support Wing has been working on a series of projects related to custody management. Following implementation of the Detention Facilities Upgrade programme, a District Detention Facilities (DDF) programme will be piloted in Sham Shui Po District and Tuen Mun District between July and September, and the selected DDF sites are Cheung Sha Wan Division and Tuen Mun Division.
The concept of DDF is derived from the centralised detention procedure adopted by some overseas police forces, including Singapore, Australia and the UK. The Force had sent officers of Support Wing to visit those overseas forces for conducting researches to come up with a model suitable for Hong Kong. After further deliberation, it was decided to adopt a gradual approach by introducing a smaller scale centralised detention procedure, i.e. DDF, which will be the only designated detention facility within a District. If not arrested and processed at the DDF division, a detained person will be transferred to the DDF if a decision has been made to detain the person in a police cell. It is intended that this procedure will replace the existing model of operating a detention facility in every police station in order to enhance the Force's professionalism in custody management.
The pilot scheme aims to assess the effectiveness of the procedure and to identify any problems this procedure might create for daily operations, in particular for crime investigation teams.
To ensure smooth implementation of the pilot scheme, a Force Working Group (FWG) has been formed, comprising representatives of the stakeholders, i.e. Support Wing, the Regions and Districts concerned, Information Systems Wing and Service Quality Wing. The first and second FWG meetings were held on May 6 and June 1 respectively, confirming the FWG's Terms of Reference, the stakeholders' roles and responsibilities, implementation timeline and the Standard Operating Procedures of Sham Shui Po District and Tuen Mun District.
Upon conclusion of the pilot scheme in September, Support Wing will conduct a full analysis and review of the scheme, and submit a report on the feasibility of implementing the DDF Force wide.
The
Force Working Group meeting, chaired by Senior Superintendent (Support)
Roderick Mason, discusses details of the pilot scheme