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The female prisoner shuffle DEAR SIR, I would like to bring to the attention of the administration an outdated Force policy. With the waiver of cell guard duty and the introduction of the intercom, it is a waste of resources to keep transferring female prisoners from station to station for the sole purpose of detention. Centralisation for the detention of female prisoners is no longer justified as it only increases the workload for those involved such as report room staff and those officers having to escort the female prisoners. Yours sincerely [name supplied] REPLY . . . DEAR SIR, Thank you for your letter suggesting that the Force adopt a policy of decentralising the detention of female prisoners. It is a sensible idea, which as you pointed out, would save some manpower. Unfortunately, the majority of police stations do not have separate male and female cells therefore such a system at present would not be feasible. Thank you again for your suggestion. G D O'Neill Support Wing

Choir DEAR SIR, As some members of the Force will be aware the Hong Kong Police Choir staged a gala concert at the Shatin Auditorium on 17 April to celebrate its 21st year of existence. The concert was a sell-out. The organising committee decided to sponsor some 400 seats (of the 1,400) for the elderly and disadvantaged. By all accounts they enjoyed themselves very much. This sponsorship, in large part, was made possible by the extreme generosity of the officers of Crime and Security Wings who between them raised the sum of no less than $28,800 through individual contributions. Frankly, I was very moved by this. I would like to publicly express my deep appreciation to Douglas Lau, D C&S and the members of the department for the most noble gesture and for bringing an evening's happiness into the lives of so many people. Yours sincerely P E Halliday Chairman, Hong Kong Police Choir

A close Shave with burning sands, barbed wire and water full of deadly Hong Kong seafood...all for a great cause Never say never again IF PTU Staff Instructor Inspector Justin Shave thought that running 229 kilometres across the Sahara desert was a "Mad thing to do in aid of a good cause", he was made to think again last Friday when he was forced to re-enact the agonies of the Marathon des Sables outside the PTU Officers' Mess. So impressed were Justin's colleagues at PTU HQ, along with the officers of PTU W, X, Y and Z Companies, with his recent fundraising efforts for the Society for Promotion of Hospice Care in Hong Kong that they got together and came up with over $10,000 to add to the already impressive total raised. However, in traditional PTU style, there was "No gain without pain", and acting C PTU Blake "Stormin' Norman" Hancock ordered that Justin be put through his own personal Desert Storm before he could collect the donations. Crowds gathered outside the Officers' Mess at 1830 hrs, therefore, to witness Justin setting off on his second "desert run". First he faced the endurance test of running twice around the desolate, wild expanse of the parade square, then he had to run bare-foot through a path of burning sand (well, actually builders' sand heated up in the Mess ovens), crawl through a prickly tunnel of barbed wire, ford a pool of water full of deadly Hong Kong seafood, before finally climbing to the top of a palm tree to retrieve the magic coconut which contained the charity donations. An exhausted Justin was able to muster just enough energy at the end to thank everyone for their support before he was helped into the Mess where a celebratory wine tasting and happy hour then commenced. Anyone interested in contributing to this worthwhile cause can do so by making cheque donations payable to: Society for the Promotion of Hospice Care Limited. Mailing address: SPHC Limited, Suite 1832 East Wing, Swire House, 11 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong. - Robbie McRobbie, TrgTm1 PTU HQ