They considered the Force a provider of high standards of service which they said was essential to the needs and demands of society in maintaining and improving police service quality.

On behalf of the Force, a University of Hong Kong team conducted telephone interviews with 1,547 people, representing a response rate of more than 50 per cent (see our centrespread for the results rundown).

About 74 per cent of respondents had high confidence in the Force while 62 per cent said they were satisfied with its overall performance, and more than 70 per cent found it professional and efficient. Almost 80 per cent felt a strong sense of daytime safety while 37 per cent said they felt safe after dark.

Director of Management Services Douglas Lau Yuk-kuen said the survey would help the Force identify public concerns and gauge opinion on them, measuring their perception of safety and security, examining police performance, and garnering other vital information to ensure Police continue providing the best quality service possible.

"The public indicated [in the survey] they would like to see the Force making greater efforts in dealing with juvenile crimes and head-bashing robberies as 42 and 57 per cent of respondents gave a negative response to these two issues respectively," Mr Lau said, adding that juvenile crime had always been a major concern for the Force and the Fight Crime Committee. "The Force Committee on Juvenile Crime has been established to set policy on how to tackle the problems through prevention, education, publicity and detection."

Mr Lau said rigorous enforcement action and increased publicity have proven effective against head bashings with only 10 cases reported in the fourth quarter of 1999, drastically down on the previous quarter which saw an average of 22 cases per month.

Mr Lau noted that 27 per cent of respondents felt officers were not prudent in their private lives and 42 per cent said they felt officers occasionally took unfair advantage of their position as law enforcers.

"We will carefully study the negative remarks and find out the causes. Individual cases will be handed over to the respective directorate officers for follow up action," Mr Lau said.

He stressed that over the past few years, the Force had spared no efforts in instilling positive values in its officers.

They included integrity and honesty, respect for the rights of the public and Force staff, fairness, impartiality and compassion, responsibility and accountability, professionalism, dedication to quality service and continuous improvement, responsiveness to change, and effective communication within and outside the Force. "In addition, we have also embarked on a number of programmes such as the Police Stations Improvement Project and the Customer Service Improvement Scheme, the Healthy Lifestyle Campaign and the Living The Values Workshops," Mr Lau added.

On these findings, Dr Robert Chung Ting-yiu of HKU's Social Sciences Research Centre which conducted the survey said they only reflected the 'strong' and 'weak' points of the officers.

He said the figures may be due to the high expectations put on officers by the public who simply hoped they could be professional in their work and prudent in their private lives.

Rounding up, Commissioner of Police Eddie Hui Ki-on said the survey indicated the public had a high confidence level in the Force, regarding it as efficient and professional. However, some negative aspects were also noted with some people perceiving that officers were not prudent in their private lives and took unfair advantage of their position.

"Senior Force Management realises the public's perception of the Force is mainly based on what they see and hear and may not in fact reflect reality. Having accepted that, however, it is incumbent on all members of the Force to examine the survey results, face the challenge positively and work together to address the negative aspects of the findings," Mr Hui said.



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