Pilot scheme on working dress in the pipeline
From January 5, in four Divisions of the Force,
officers will be issued with a newly designed uniform. They will field
test their new working dress which has been designed to offer more
comfort, flexibility and practicability and enhance the operational
efficiency of the Force.
Ms Alice Yeung Chui-mei, Superintendent Field of Support Branch,
told OffBeat that the officers involved in the pilot scheme would
come from the Emergency Unit Hong Kong Island, Traffic Hong Kong Island,
Airport District and Mass Transit Railway District.
She said: "We shall listen carefully to the feedback from officers
under the pilot scheme prior to the full implementation of the change in
the working dress.
"The decision to introduce a new uniform was made after taking
into account the results of an extensive staff opinion survey and
consultation exercise between December 2001 and April 2002. A total of
32,617 questionnaires were distributed to Force members and there was a
high response rate of 59 per cent.
"The survey," she said, "showed overwhelming support for
the proposed new functional and comfortable working dress. Most
respondents, up to 70%, had a very good and positive impression about the
proposed working dress."
She continued: "The design of the new working dress has put more emphasis on the comfort, occupational health and safety aspects and the practical needs of officers engaged on daily policing work. We have also examined the experiences of other emergency services in overseas countries to ensure that the new working dress is best value for money and will suit the Force well into the future.
"At present, officers need to follow the guidelines of seasonal change. But the all-weather design of the new working dress will better suit the needs of individual officers who have to work under different weather or working conditions. With the new uniform, officers stationed in some remote districts like Ta Kwu Ling will have the option of adding overcoats in cooler weather."
High-tech Fabrics
Made of different fabrics with heat-retaining, breathable, waterproof, fire-retardant and crease-resistant features, the newly designed uniform incorporates six basic design concepts, namely uniformity, unisex, practicality, layering, comfort and safety.
"For instance, the high-tech fabric used in the overcoat, unlike the old one, offers protection against infiltration of any infectious blood-carried virus. This is particularly essential for frontline officers who often attend blood-stained scenes of accident or crime and have contacts with injured people, reducing the chances of accidental infection," explained Ms Yeung.
"After the consultation exercise, we also accepted and implemented the suggestion that the overcoat should incorporate more reflective materials to make it visible and safe in the dark.
"A Police badge will also be affixed to the upper arm of the new working dress for easy identification by members of the public," she added.
Comfortable and Smart
The uniform change has also won the support of the Junior Police Officers' Association (JPOA) as well as the Uniform & Accoutrements Committee, which includes representatives of officers of various ranks and staff associations.
The JPOA Chairman, Mr Lau Kam-wah, said: "My colleagues have tried on the new uniform and found that it was very comfortable and projected a smart and professional image. The new design is clearly more suitable for officers working long hours and under changing environments.
"The materials used in the old uniform are less breathable. Frontline officers wearing the old uniform are dripping with sweat when they work under the hot sun. The fabric used in the new uniform is 'breathable' which is an improvement and officers can add always add liners when cooler weather arrives," he said.
Ms Yeung said that as a taxpayer herself, every effort would be made to ensure that every cent of public money was well spent. She said: "To help save money and avoid wastage, we have suspended the normal replacement of uniforms this year and next year. Also we will integrate and phase in the new uniform which is the same colours as the current winter uniform.
"The expenditure incurred in the launch of the uniform change will be made under the savings from the previous years Force's Saving and Invest Account. We have made savings in recent years to pay for the uniform to avoid asking for money from Government," she added.
Survey findings on proposed Force Working Dress have been uploaded onto POINT for general reference.
Ms Alice Yeung : the arm badge is most
conspicuous and instantly identifiable