Normal liquor licences are handled by the Liquor Licensing Board. The Police Licensing Office submitted a total of 2 741 recommendations to the Liquor Licensing Board in respect of new issue, renewal and transfer of liquor licences during 2000.

A total of 28 new licences for massage establishments were issued bringing the number of licensed massage establishments to 219. Legislative amendments to the Massage Establishments Ordinance will be proposed in 2001 to relax licensing control so that only those establishments providing opposite sex full body massage need to be licensed and to extend licence renewal from 12 to 24 months.

Police Licensing Office also helped vet 1 853 applications in respect of mahjong/tin kau parlours for the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority.

Data Privacy and Access to Information
A coordination unit has been set up to devise internal policy on Force's data privacy and ensure compliance with the provisions of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and the Code on Access to Information, as well as the three anti-discrimination ordinances.

The Unit organised seminars and presentations to various Units and Formations, and launched a bilingual Data Privacy web site to enhance knowledge and ensure compliance.

Public Relations
The Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB) plays an important role in explaining the work of the Force and maintaining good relations with the public. This is achieved through the work of its two executive arms — the Community Relations Bureau and the Information and Publicity Bureau.

Community Relations
Police Community Relations Officers and Neighbourhood Police Co-ordinators provide a bridge to the community at grass root level, always being available to discuss district concerns and explain police initiatives and actions. School Liaison Officers give talks to students on prevention of youth crime. Possibly the Force's most successful outreach programme, Junior Police Call, organises a wide range of activities for young people, designed to instil respect for the law and guide them towards a healthy and meaningful life. Membership currently exceeds 160 000. A weekly radio programme, Voice of JPC provides a forum for spreading crime prevention messages and promoting youth activities.

The Community Relations Bureau also produces two weekly television programmes, in Chinese and English, to appeal for help in solving crimes and raise awareness about crime trends. In addition, the Bureau runs multi-lingual police hotlines and processes Crime Information Forms, both of which have stimulated responses from the public that have led to many arrests.

The Police and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce jointly administer the Good Citizen Award Scheme and the Good Citizen of the Year Award Scheme to recognise good deeds by members of the community.

Information and Publicity
Information Officers from the Information Services Department operate a 24-hour Newsroom that disseminates information on crimes and police activities. During the year, they handled more than 220 000 media enquiries, organised around 450 press conferences and briefings, issued some 3 850 press releases, and attended more than 300 scenes of incidents to assist media coverage.

The Information and Publicity Bureau produces a full-colour fortnightly newspaper, OffBeat, that provides information on police events, personnel and activities for members of the Force and the media. The recently revamped police internet web site — www.info.gov.hk/police — also offers extensive information on the Force, including its history and organisation. Information Officers help organise fight crime publicity campaigns that have been successful in getting important messages across to the public.