Tai Po District (TPDIST) rolled out "Project Village Watch" in August 2011 to recruit villagers to act as Crime Prevention Ambassadors and provide them with information of crime trends and knowledge of crime prevention. 

With the "ambassadors" disseminating crime prevention messages to their fellow villagers, the project has not only established a partnership between the police and the rural community in combatting burglaries in the remote areas in Tai Po, but also extended the intelligence-gathering network of TPDIST to the areas.

On April 18, the 7th Recruitment Seminar and Appointment Ceremony of "Project Village Watch" were held in Tai Po Police Station, with TPDIST Deputy Commander Ng Wing-kai welcoming the "ambassadors" and guests.

At the seminar, Police Community Relations Officer Chan Shan-shan, the officer in charge of the District Intelligence Squad and officers from the Regional Crime Prevention Office briefed 15 new Crime Prevention Ambassadors from six villages on details of the project, their roles, the crime trends in villages and knowledge of preventing burglary and deception.

Following the seminar, TPDIST Commander Paul Stripp presented Certificates of Appointment to the "ambassadors", along with Chairman of Tai Po District Fight Crime Committee, Mr Kwok Wing-keung, Tai Po District Rural Committee Chairman, Mr Man Chen-fai, Fung Ying Seen Koon Public Relations officer, Mr Yip Mak, and Tai Po Divisional Commander Fung Wai-ming. 

Many villages have adopted the crime prevention measures recommended by the project, including installation of CCTV. Speaking at the Appointment Ceremony, Mr Stripp thanked Tai Po District Rural Committee, Tai Po District Fight Crime Committee and Fung Ying Seen Koon for their great support, which, he noted, had contributed to the successful implementation of "Project Village Watch", closer co-operation between TPDIST and the rural community, and engaging the community in preventing and combatting rural crimes, particularly burglary.

With the help of 154 Crime Prevention Ambassadors from 50 villages, TPDIST is expected to extend "Project Village Watch" to more villages.