Mandatory Provident Fund
The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Scheme, which came into force on December 1, 2000, requires both employer and staff to contribute equal sums representing five per cent of the employees' relevant monthly income or $1,000 per month, whichever is the less. This includes officers employed on agreement terms, who can carry their contributions forward to any other jobs in Hong Kong or cash it subject to the preservation requirement of the ordinance.

Personnel Services
The Personnel Services Branch offers comprehensive welfare and support services to improve the quality of life for police officers and their families :

• During 2000, professionally-trained Police Welfare Officers at the six regional offices handled 4 521 casework interviews — 1 406 of them new cases — that included 6 582 home and hospital visits to help solve a wide range of problems affecting the officers.

　

• The Psychological Services Group provided 1 995 professional counselling consultations and educational services for officers and their families. Stress management training has been extended to a number of units, including the PTU, and the Group is developing further packages on conflict management and other psychological skills in police work. A new Hong Kong office located on Leighton Road was opened in October.

　

• To encourage JPOs to pursue private studies relevant to their duties, the Police Welfare Fund made grants available that assisted 96 officers to complete a degree or diploma course.

　

• Family Life Education Programmes and Support Groups for health-impaired officers were organised regularly to help officers and their families understand and overcome any problems at home or work.

　

• Retirement Preparation Courses including a job placement service were organised regularly for officers approaching retirement. Some 166 officers attended the courses during the year and 83 officers were successfully placed in jobs.

　

• In 1999/2000, the two Police Education Trusts awarded almost $6 million in bursaries to 1 599 children of regular and auxiliary police officers and scholarships to nine students with outstanding academic performance in public examinations.

  　

• The Police Welfare Fund sponsored 12 children of JPOs and Inspectorate Officers to attend short courses overseas on language, conservation and cultural exchange programmes during the summer vacation.

　

• The Central Fund Scheme for the JPOs and the Family Protection Fund for Inspectorate Officers and above and their civilian counterparts continued to provide financial assistance to the families of Force members who had died or been permanently incapacitated in service.

　

• As at the end of 2000, the Police Quartering Division was responsible for 11 766 Departmental Quarters, including 10 967 for JPOs, 591 for Inspectorate Officers and 208 operational/post-tied quarters.

Awards
In 2000, three officers were awarded the Hong Kong Police Medal for Distinguished Service and 26 officers the Hong Kong Police Medal for Meritorious Service. One officer received the Medal of Honour and one received the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government Service.

Hong Kong Police Long Service Medals were awarded to 1 335 officers after 18 years of continuous police service; 1 141 officers were awarded the 1st Clasp to the Medal after 25 years' service; 316 officers were awarded the 2nd Clasp after 30 years' service; and 277 officers were awarded the 3rd Clasp after 33 years' service. Some 294 officers received the Long Service Travel Award.

Among civilians, 171 staff were awarded the Long and Meritorious Service Certificates and 22 received the Long Service Travel Award.

Training Wing
Higher Training
Junior Command Course — attended by Inspectors or Senior Inspectors with four to seven years' service in the rank, is a three-week course designed to enhance personal and professional development and to prepare them for the rank of Chief Inspector.

Intermediate Command Course — a three-week course for newly promoted Chief Inspectors, which focuses on personal and professional development. Participants may also take associated studies leading to the award of tertiary qualifications from the University of Hong Kong. More than 80 Chief Inspectors have graduated, so far, with a Diploma in Personnel Management & Public Administration.

Senior Command Course — a course for Superintendents designed to strengthen their managerial and professional skills. Participants can gain accreditation to take further studies in Public Administration at Doctoral, Masters, Diploma and Certificate level with universities locally and overseas.

Information Technology Training Centre (ITTC) — With force-wide implementation of information technology and the introduction of various computerised systems developed in-house, ITTC has assumed an increasingly significant role in terms of training. The mission of the Centre is to ensure users fully understand and utilise the capabilities of the various computerised systems.

The Centre constantly reviews and updates its training systems in line with developing technology and the needs of the Force. Looking ahead, computer-based training (CBT) is being developed with a view to better utilise resources and to increase the effectiveness of teaching methods. Pioneer experimental projects on CBT are being tested on the POlice INTranet (POINT).

Police Driving School — All police drivers are trained to a strict doctrine of defensive driving techniques that take account of operational needs without compromising safety. In the past three years, the school has placed greater emphasis on driver attitude and education rather than purely skills-based instruction. A comprehensive testing and revalidation licensing process that ensures all police drivers demonstrate a safe and courteous example on the roads of Hong Kong reinforce this philosophy.

Weapons Training — Firearms and Tactics Training — The Force has introduced a specialised weapons training system that uses computerised interactive imagery for target practice and tactics development. The sophisticated system has already attracted the attention of other police forces in South East Asia, which plan to adapt it to their own training programmes. As a further example of inter-regional co-operation, the Hong Kong Police Force hosted representatives from Shenzhen PSB and the Singapore Police Force for a firearm instructor-training course. The courses also catered for local partners in the other disciplined services.

Auxiliary Training — In accordance with the revised role of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force (HKAPF), the ultimate strength of the HKAPF will gradually decrease to 4 500 through natural wastage. However, to maintain regeneration, up to 150 constables will be recruited each year to undergo basic training, and promotion courses will continue to be run when vacancies arise. All serving auxiliaries attend weeklong annual training camps that take place throughout the year.

Detective Training School (DTS) — While detective training remains the core business of DTS, its role has widened to cover the needs for criminal investigation skills among other government departments as well as other police forces. In 2000, DTS provided training for Macanese police officers and personnel from the Education Department, Environmental Protection Department and Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong amongst others.

Despite the need to extend its services while keeping costs down, DTS managed to achieve a record training output without increases in manpower and other resources. As a consequence, Force Management nominated DTS to participate in the Productivity Achievement Awards Competition organised by the Government's Efficiency Unit.

DTS has successfully applied to have its Standard Criminal Investigation Course accredited to the Diploma in Criminal Justice offered by the University of Hong Kong. This is seen as a means to encourage officers to pursue life-long learning.