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On February 4, the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) and Kowloon City District (KCDIST) conducted a briefing session for the Chairman and 16 members of the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) regarding the enhanced measures made to the Temporary Holding Area (THA) at Hung Hom Police Station, in response to the recommendation made to the THA in the “Thematic Study Report on the Public Order Events arising from the Fugitive Offenders Bill since June 2019 and the Police Actions in Response” (the Thematic Study Report) published by the IPCC in May 2020.
Accompanied by Director of Management Services Lam Hiu-tong, Assistant Commissioner (Service Quality) Tsang Yim-sheung and Chief Superintendent of the Complaints and Internal Investigations Branch Au Yeung Mun-yee, the IPCC delegation was apprised of the enhanced measures which improved the transparency of handling detainees and the service quality of the Force, including allocation of additional Duty Officers; forming of escort team for detainees seeking medical treatment; deployment of additional manpower to facilitate the arrangement of visits for detainees; provision of standard and easily identifiable vests and wristbands for detainees; installation of closed-circuit television cameras and enhancement of computer system with audit trail functions to enable timely and accurate record of information about detainees. A guided tour to the THA was also provided to allow the delegation to obtain a better understanding of the measures and the facilities on site.
At the end of the visit, the IPCC Chairman said that the Council was pleased about the active measures taken by the Police which enabled full implementation of improvements to THA as recommended in the Thematic Study Report.
The Thematic Study Report details 52 recommendations for improving police practices and procedures. Under the existing mechanism, the CAPO will report the progress of the recommendations during its joint meeting with the IPCC.
