CPC Series
Avoiding 'newsworthy' complaints
In the face of a prolonged economic downturn and a high unemployment rate, many frustrated and resentful people are quick to take offence and easily angered. Frontline officers worry that in simply doing their sworn duty to maintain law and order, they may inadvertently trigger an incident resulting in a complaint being made against them that could even result in dismissal.
The main reasons for such heightened fear are probably due to the efficiency of the media in collecting information that will make a good story. If the police are involved in an incident and aggrieved members of the public make accusations against them, justified or not, those accusations will appear prominently in news reports. The Police image is placed in jeopardy and the officers involved placed under great stress. Even if the complaints are subsequently proved to be unfounded the media rarely gives equal prominence to the 'acquittal' and often fails to cover it at all.
There have been several such 'negative' reports in the media recently. There were the 'Happy New Year' incident, and the labour dispute in Yau Tong. These incidents were all reported widely and negatively without any attempt at giving a balanced view and became the talk of the town.
I have noticed that some complaints have nothing at all to do with our professionalism, the problem appears to be a lack of skilled 'conflict management' by the officers concerned.
And when complaints have been widely reported by the media, the public focus their attention on our ethics, discipline or professionalism and completely ignore the mandatory Police mission itself.
It is clear that, apart from courage, fairness, integrity and competency, we must possess and project mature inter-personal skills and display a good sense of humour. That way, we will be able to prevent unnecessary complaints and enhance the Force image.
