There are frequent public assemblies and protest marches in Central and its Divisional Commander Clara Ng said Police respected the public's right to expression and extended help as far as possible to ensure events are smooth.

It is therefore necessary for measures to be taken to ensure safety, to protect life and property as well as keeping traffic controlled.

Unfortunately it is inevitable unpleasant events still occur. So how do frontline officers handle such situations?

Case 1 - Station Sergeant Li Chun-wai is the Officer in Charge of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Police Post. Part of his responsibilities is to receive petitions on behalf of the Chief Executive.

Mr Li said in general, protesters were very polite. However some demonstrators feel unhappy as they do not understand it is his duty to receive the letter on behalf of the SARCE.

Apart from impolite treatment, Mr Li has sometimes faced embarrassing situations. One time protesters forcibly placed a lantern used in funerals on his back and did not let him go.

Asked how he handled the situation, Mr Li said the most important thing was to control one's emotions, keep calm and be patient to prevent matters from getting worse.

He said: "I patiently explained to the demonstrators that there were many ways to air their opinions within the law and that since their views were expressed in the petition, it was unwise to do something which would affect other people.

Case 2 - Administration and Support Sub-Unit Commander of Kowloon Division Inspector Wong Chi-keung took part in crowd management many times when he was a Station Sergeant in Wan Chai District between 1995 and 1997.

Mr Wong said during a demonstration outside a hotel in 1997, demonstrators broke through the first cordon erected by security guards and were trying to break through the police cordon by climbing over a flowerbed.

"I climbed up the flowerbed at once to block their way. However, one of the demonstrators grabbed my strap and tried to pull me down. My colleagues on the other side of the flowerbed held my belt firmly so I could maintain balance," Mr Wong said.

He refrained from taking any action to protect the image of the Force and avoid provoking the demonstrators.

Unfortunately, they suddenly let go and Mr Wong fell onto his colleagues, hurting one of them.

"I felt disturbed at that moment, thinking that if I had not climbed up the flowerbed, my colleague would not have been injured. However, I knew that if I had not done so, the situation would have been out of control," he said.

"I immediately arranged an ambulance to take the injured officer to hospital. I also calmed down the emotions of the colleagues at the scene to prevent them from developing a hostile attitude towards the demonstrators."

Case 3 - Mr Wong's supervisor when he was stationed at Wan Chai District, Senior Inspector Tony Ho Kai-hin, has faced similar situations.

The World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings were held at the Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in 1997.

While a group of demonstrators were discussing the arrangements for their activities with police representatives, some of the demonstrators suddenly rushed towards the HKCEC through Immigration Tower.

Now the No.2 Platoon Commander Emergency Unit of Hong Kong Island, Mr Ho said: "When we advised them to leave the area, one of them suddenly hit and kicked me. I was very surprised as I did not expect a peaceful demonstration to turn violent."

"I told myself that the most important thing was to carry on with my duties. I avoided her further attack and tried to calm her down together with my colleagues.

"What I have learned from the case is that officers should always be on high alert in order to deal with any unexpected incident."

Although the three officers have different experiences, they do have similar pointers for colleagues in handling such incidents.

All of them agreed communication was of the utmost importance. Officers should make protesters understand Police will spare no effort to facilitate them if they want to make their views known in a lawful manner.

In fact, the aim of the protesters is to express their opinions. Officers should therefore maintain a neutral stance and exercise restraint.

Mr Li said: "As police officers, we should control our emotions in order to maintain our professional dignity and protect the image of the Force while discharging our duties."

Mr Wong and Mr Ho noted that the behaviour of individual officers built up the image of the Force.

Every Force member played an important role and Police can gain the respect and support of the public if all of them have the same goal.

On impolite treatment, Mr Li said he would let it go.

After completing one task, he would not think about it anymore, but would rather adopt a calm and positive attitude to face new challenges.

Mr Wong said officers would feel proud of themselves for the efforts they had made to protect the image of the Force and prevent matters from getting out of hand.

As for Mr Ho, he said officers should attach the greatest importance to their duties.

"You will feel relieved as long as you know what you have done is right. You can get job satisfaction during the course and learn how to improve yourself and do your job better," he said.