Website fan DEAR SIR, ¡@¡@Congratulations on the OFFBEAT website. I visited it for the first time today having been led there via the Tiger Standard page which I usually monitor on Sundays. I intend keeping in touch this way. ¡@ I was proud to see how the Force performed during the handover and wish the best for everyone in the future. Yours truly, Clive Evans Republic of Ireland

Queries on the Long Service Travel Award Scheme DEAR SIR, ¡@¡@I have several queries on the Force procedure of nomination to the "Long Service Travel Award Scheme". ¡@Under what circumstances would an officer who has served over 20 years be recommended by senior staff to participate in the scheme? ¡@Using what criteria does the selection committee choose an officer eligible for the scheme? ¡@I think it's unfair to other colleagues if an officer could be re-qualified within a short period after he had abandoned the right to participate in the early round of selection. If a colleague has been posted to a district or division which is full of officers who have served over 20 years, he would have little opportunity to enjoy the scheme before his retirement. ¡@Another example to show the unfairness of the scheme is that sometimes the seniority of officers nominated at the divisional level might be lower than those recommended at the district level. But the former might still be chosen to enjoy the scheme because the criteria of the selection committees are different from one another. ¡@The following are recommendations aimed at eliminating the unfairness of the scheme: ¡@If an officer abandons the opportunity to participate in the scheme, he should be restricted from taking part again for at least half-a-year or more. This restriction is similar to the procedure for those who want to apply for Force Quarters - which I think is much more impartial. ¡@I also think Personnel Wing should provide to each region a list of the participants eligible for the scheme before starting the selection. Thus the senior staff of each district/division could examine their details and in turn guarantee that the list of participants is based on seniority. Sincerely, SSgt Puk Lai-mau Shatin Police Station ACP P NG Wai-kit replies . . . DEAR SIR, ¡@¡@I would like to thank Station Sergeant Puk for his views and suggestions on the Long Service Travel Awards (LSTA) Scheme. ¡@All local non-directorate officers with a continuous period of service of 20 years or more are eligible for consideration under the LSTA Scheme. Officers who have already received a merit trip award under the former Merit Trip Scheme or a travel award under the present scheme, through the entitlement of their spouses, are not eligible. ¡@Upon receipt of the annual call circular from Civil Service Bureau, Personnel Wing will address individual Major Formation Commanders asking them to consider all eligible officers under their command and to make nominations for the LSTA to the Commissioner of Police. These lists of nominees are considered by the Force Selection Committee, which will choose officers for award. ¡@The Secretary for the Civil Service has issued guidelines to assist MFCs and the FSC in making their decisions which include: Length of service beyond the initial qualifying period of 20 years should be given due consideration and suitable recognition; Eligible officers should have consistently good staff reports; and Preference should be given to officers who have not recently had and who are unlikely within the near future to have an opportunity for Government sponsored overseas travel. ¡@Due recognition is given by both the MFC and the FSC in reaching their decisions, to the length of service that an officer has. However, it must be stressed that length of service, although an important element, is only one of many factors that have to be given due weighting, in order to ensure fairness to every eligible officer and not just to the longest serving staff. ¡@Should an officer withdraw from the LSTA Scheme at any stage after selection, he will be asked to submit his written reasons and the award will immediately be given to the next officer on the priority waiting list. If, on the next or subsequent occasion, the same officer is again nominated under the scheme, the FSC will carefully examine his reasons for withdrawing on the previous occasion and make it's decision whether or not the officer merits an award. ¡@The FSC is of the opinion that, in the interests of fairness, it would be improper to penalise an officer who had been forced to withdraw for good reasons and through no fault of his own, by debarring him from subsequent consideration for an award. It is felt that each case should be considered on its merits and that decisions should be based upon this principle. ¡@Regarding SSgt Puk's suggestion to provide regions with lists of those officer eligible for the scheme. He may wish to note that this information is readily available to all Formation Commanders from the PICS system. ¡@Finally the Force has confidence that its nomination and selection system is as simple and as fair to all officers, as possible. However, with any system that is open to competition there will be those participants who are understandably disappointed at not being selected. All officers are, therefore, asked to be understanding and bear in mind that the Force can only make limited allocation of awards each year and that the number of eligible officers far exceeds the number of awards that can be made. Yours faithfully, Ng Wai-kit (for Commissioner of Police)

OBITUARY THOMAS ALBERT BARNES 1937 - 1997 THOMAS Albert Barnes died suddenly at his home in Tavira, Portugal, on 5 August 97. He was 60 years old. ¡@Born in Hull, England, Tom worked as a newspaper representative and also did National Service with the Intelligence Corps in Malaya before jeining the Hong Kong Police Force in 1965, from which he retired in 1993 in the rand of SSP. ¡@During a disinguished career that saw Mr Barnes serve in a variety of divisions and branches, he received his CPLSM and CPLSM first clasp. ¡@At one point during his police service a magistrate commended SSP Barnes on the conviction of a man for a series of frauds. Said the judge: "Mr Barnes and all officers concerned in this case are to be commended on the fact that at the outset the police had nothing to go on. The apprehension of the accused was a direct result of the initiative and diligence shown by Mr Barnes and these officers." ¡@Tom, who is survived by his widow Moira and their daughters, was cremated following funeral ceremonies in Lisbon on 7 August 97. He will be greatly missed by allwho knew him.

Some Rules of the Workplace 1. A pat on the back is only a few centimetres from a kick in the behind. 2. Don't be irreplaceable, if you can't be replaced,you can't be promoted. 3. Afte any salary raise, you will have less money at the end of the month than you did before. 4. There will always be beer cans rolling on the floor of your car when he boss asks ofr a ride home from he office. 5. To err is human, to forgive is not our policy. 6. Important letters that contain no errors will develop errors in the mail. 7. If you are good, you will be assigned all he work. If you are really good, you willget out of it. 8. You are always doing something marginal when he boss drops by your desk. 9. If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done. 10. When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried. 11. Following the fules will not get the job done. 12. Getting the job done is no excuse for following the rules. 13. No matter how much you do, you never do enough. 14. The last person who quit or was fired will be held responsible for everything that goes wrong. 15. Do something brilliant and no one is watching. Do something stupid and the boss is sure to see it.