ACP IS Peter Halliday with officers of Information Systems Wing who received their Commanding Officer's Commendation

PETER Halliday, ACP IS, presented his commendations to officers of Information Systems Wing at a hi-tech ceremony in the Senior Officers' Mess on 9 December. Senior Inspectors Georgiana Wu and Angus Yeung, of Transport Bureau, announced the awards to the accompaniment of a Power Point presentation and musical accompaniment from the Hong Kong Police Dance Band.

Among the recipients were three Police Telecommunications Inspectors of Communications Branch who had played a major part in ensuring the success of police operations during the handover period. Ten officers of various ranks, both civilian and disciplined, were commended for their efforts in bringing the Force into the computer age at the Information Technology Training Centre. Also honoured were three Senior Inspectors of Client Services Bureau who had been closely involved in the successful development and implementation of the Formation Information Communal System(FICS). Mr Halliday congratulated the recipients saying that Commanding Officer's Commendations are not awarded lightly. In each case, the officer concerned had performed his or her duties to a far higher standard than required or expected, often under trying circumstances. It was a day tinged with sadness for six members of the Wing who received retirement souvenirs. Prominent among these was Senior Inspector David Chan Fu, head of the Gazetteer Team, who is now leaving the Force which he joined as a Police Constable in 1965.

Register to vote for first HKSAR Legislative Council

THE first Legislative Council election of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region will be held on 24 May 1998. This will be a historic event as it marks the first time that permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be electing their own representatives to the legislature. In order to exercise your right to vote in the 1998 Legislative Council election, you must first register as a voter on or before 16 January 1998. The Government will launch an unprecedented campaign to reach out to all eligible voters in order to get them registered in geographical constituencies. A force of 30,000 Voter Registration Ambassadors will be mobilised to visit every household in the territory during the Voter Registration Week from 6 to 12 December for this purpose. We need your support in making this campaign a success by responding positively to the Voter Registration Ambassador who will be knocking on your door. For those who are also eligible to register as electors in the functional constituency or election Committee subsector, registration forms are available in District Offices/Post Offices/Police Stations.

THIS first fully certified PPCT Instructor Course conducted in Hong Kong by the HKP graduated recently. It is part of the Pressure Point Control Tactics initiative which included the course run at the Police Training School in May this year by overseas experts. The PPCT Defensive Tactics system is taught to all HKP recruits. Further Instructor Courses will be conducted in the future to expand the PTS Instructor cadre.

Front, left to right: PC Chiu Hon-sing, PC Lo Kwong-yue, WPC Lee Wai-chung, PC Wong Wai-yung Centre, left to right: SP D H Tallon, CDMI C J Howard, CIP G M Killen. Rear row left to right: SIP Choi Kwok-leung, SIP Tan Wing-yuen, IP T J A Bull, SIP Tsang Pang-fei, SIP Wong Wai-ming

Of particular interest is that the course included the first female instructor, WPC Lee Wai-chung of EU KW, and the first senior officer instructor, D H Tallon, SP CTSD PTS, who is also chairman of the Working Group on Defensive Tactics formed to co-ordinate PPCT Defensive Tactics training in the Force. It is hoped that final Senior Directorate Staff approval for the full implementation of the system Force-wide will be forthcoming soon. The Course Director was C J Howard, CDMI PTS, assisted by G Killen, CIP SD CTSD PTS, who has recently started a six-month project at PTS to write a new Force manual on the subject.

Volunteers needed to take part in passenger terminal trials at new airport

THE Airport Authority (AA) is planning to conduct three operational trials in the Passenger Terminal Building of the new airport at Chek Lap Kok early next year to test its facilities and systems prior to opening. AA is now inviting police officers, civilians and their families to participate in the upcoming Passenger Terminal Building trials. Employees of other Government departments and airport companies will also be invited. This is not a duty commitment. Volunteers will play the role of passengers and, in conjunction with the participating airlines and Government departments, assist AA and relevant parties in testing the new airport in a "real time" environment. Participants will take part in a series of trials to simulate the processing of passengers and their baggage, whether they be departing, arriving or transiting the airport. AA will provide all documentation and baggage required for the trials. The first trial will be held on 18 January 1998 (Sunday). The second and third trials are tentatively planned for 15 February and 15 March, 1998 (both are Sundays). It is estimated that the trials will last for about five hours, including travelling time to and from the new airport. AA is looking for volunteers aged between five and 70 to join the trials. Children under the age of 11 must be accompanied by adults in order for their applications to be considered. Applicants are required to supply personal data on the application form for AA's processing which will, under no circumstances, be used for any other purpose than for the selection process, and to arrange for the assistance and facilities that may be required and used by the participants in the trials. AA is interested in having persons who are frequent users of the airport as well as those who have limited air travel experience. AA will provide bus transportation to and from designated points in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island for all participants - who will not be permitted to use their own cars to travel to and from the new airport. For more information, those interested in volunteering can contact Anita Tong: 2769-2301; Pratima Patel: 2769-2497; or Bruce Watson: 2769-2491 of the Airport Authority. Application forms will be distributed through the PEN message system.