In a bid to engage the Non-ethnic Chinese (NEC) community, different police districts have recently offered the NEC community various activities to enhance their awareness of crime prevention and the understanding of the police.
YLDIST discusses NEC engagement, appoints Fight Crime Stars
With many NECs working or living in its precincts, Yuen Long District (YLDIST) sees to it that its officers have a good understanding of the NEC community. Therefore on June 24, Deputy District Commander Kerry Carew and Police Community Relations Officer Shiu Wan-yee presided at a Knowledge Cafe session and shared with officers their views on how to get along with NEC residents.
YLDIST also invited five NEC community leaders, Messrs Mohammad Amir Khan, Mohammad Irfan and Hussain Jameel from Pakistan, Mr Amaechi Anayo from Africa and Ms Lilis Setyowati Suripno from Indonesia, to join the session. The guests introduced their cultures, religions and customs with interesting cases and offered advice on how to eliminate communication gaps and enhance co-operation between the NEC and the police.
The sharing session gave the officers a better understanding of many matters related to the NEC community. In particular, the question-and-answer session between the guests and the officers helped foster mutual trust, understanding and respect.
In another effort, YLDIST appointed eight members of its Project "Himalaya" as Himalaya Fight Crime Stars in a ceremony held on June 17 to commend their participation in fight crime activities and dissemination of anti-crime messages.
Speaking at the ceremony, YLDIST Commander Tsang Cheung-tat thanked the Fight Crime Stars, their parents and police volunteers for supporting the Project "Himalaya". He also encouraged the Fight Crime Stars to serve the community, boost their self-confidence and discipline and adopt a healthy lifestyle.
The Fight Crime Stars' parents appreciated the objectives of the project and police volunteers' coaching and assistance for their children.
At the ceremony, two Pakistani community leaders, Mr Mohammad Amir Khan and Mr Hussain Jameel, also spoke highly of the objectives of Project "Himalaya" and pointed out that it helped the NEC integrate with the locals.
Since May this year, the Fight Crime Stars have been taking part in many activities, including anti-drug seminars, distribution of publicity leaflets at mosques and places frequented by NEC and an anti-cyber crime movie competition. YLDIST has motivated them to take part in sports competitions with non-governmental organisations and schools to broaden their social network and integrate into the community.
YTDIST celebrates 'Project Gemstone' winning award
Yau Tsim District (YTDIST) held a reception on June 5 to celebrate its "Project Gemstone" winning the title of the Force's Service Quality Award Scheme 2014 and commend police volunteers and NEC Junior Police Call (JPC) members participating in the project for their endeavours.
Three YTDIST JPC Honorary Presidents, Messrs Chiu Yu-hei, Chiu Sung-bun and Lai Kan, were on hand to share the joy with the project members and police volunteers. Speaking at the reception, YTDIST Commander Kwok Pak-chung thanked JPC Honorary Presidents, the Organising Committee and police volunteers for their contributions to "Project Gemstone".
The work of the "Project Gemstone" volunteer team was introduced at the Reception in a bid to encourage more YTDIST officers to serve as Group Mentors to organise activities and pass on police knowledge in their leisure time.
YTDIST rolled out "Project Gemstone" in February 2013 to help NEC JPC members brush up their Chinese language proficiency and integrate into the community. The project also seeks to broaden the career prospects of JPC members wishing to join the Force or other government departments.
TMDIST raises NEC's awareness of crime prevention
Tuen Mun District (TMDIST) offered a talk on crime awareness to over 50 Pakistanis at the United Muslims Association in Fu Tai Estate on May 23.
Conducted by TMDIST Police Community Relations Officer Choy Chun-wah, the talk covered topics like crime trends, sexual offences, technology crime and violent crime, reminding the audience to remain vigilant to the common modus operandi employed by the criminals. In addition, tips on how to protect oneself from technology crimes, along with pamphlets and fight-crime souvenirs, were offered to the audience.
The audience indicated the talk and visit of the police had helped allay their misgivings about living in Hong Kong and that they were increasingly confident and supportive of the police.
STDIST plays host to international students
As part of the initiative for school liaison and building relationship with NEC, the Sha Tin District (STDIST) NEC Engagement Focus Group, headed by Acting Ma On Shan Divisional Commander Angus Scott and comprising English-speaking Police Constables and Inspectors, invited a group of students from the Sha Tin College to visit Ma On Shan Police Station on June 22.
The focus group members offered the students, aged 12 to 17, talks on police duties, equipment and vehicles as well as Report Room jobs. The talks adopted an interactive approach with a question-and-answer session, the emphasis of which was on the students finding answers for themselves.
The students enjoyed meeting officers and touring the station. They particularly liked meeting "Angie", a very senior police dog and her handler.
The feedback from the school was positive and the teachers requested similar talks for the whole school in the near future.
