Eight out of 10 members of the public who had contacts with the Police are 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with our quality of service.

Director of Management Services, Mr Yam Tat-wing (centre), is pleased with the results of the Customer Satisfaction Survey

The University of Hong Kong, Poon Kam Kai Institute of Management, interviewed 843 members of the public, representing 1,228 contacts with the Force through five main channels: the '999' consoles, reports made in person at police report rooms, by attending crime investigation offices, by being questioned at the scene of incidents and through telephone calls to police stations.

Respondents, all over 18, were informants, crime victims or witnesses who had contacted police frontline officers in the three months before the Survey - between July and September 2002.

The Force scored high marks in the Survey. The overall satisfaction rate with police services provided at points of police-public contact rose from 76 percent in 2000 to 80 percent in 2002, representing an increase of four percentage points.

Amongst the five channels, the performance of the 999 console was rated the best and attained an overall satisfaction rating of 87 percent.

Of particular encouragement is the overall very satisfied percentage increase from 8 percent in 2000 to an astounding 20 percent in 2002, representing an increase of 12 percentage points.

Another area recording a significant improvement is in the answering service provided at police stations where the satisfaction rate improved significantly, leaping from 70 percent in 2000 to 84 percent in 2002 - an increase of 14 percentage points.

Respondents were most satisfied with the politeness and helpfulness displayed by police officers and the efficiency of Police services. The Survey results found that members of the public having actual contacts with the Police held them in high regard as a result of the experience.

"I am very pleased with the results," Director of Management Services, Mr Yam Tat-wing said. "The results of the Survey help take the pulse of the public. It gave validation to improvements made by the Force over the past two years. However, we will not become complacent. We will continue to identify improvement opportunities and build upon professionalism in our quest for perfection. I can assure members of the public that we will continue our best efforts to keep Hong Kong as one of the safest and most stable societies in the world and to serve the community with pride and care."

Commenting on the survey findings, the Chairman of the Junior Police Officers Association, Mr Lau Kam-wah, said the survey findings indicated that "though public demands for Police services were increasingly high, members of the Force could satisfy the public with their high quality of service".

Mr Lau noted that the senior management of the Force has been making efforts to improve services to the public in view of the needs of the community.

A 999 operator working in the Hong Kong Island Regional Command & Control Centre, Ms Lau Wing-che, told Offbeat: "It is encouraging to note that we have received a high rate of service satisfaction. We shall not be complacent, however, but strive to further improve our service to the community."

Service Quality Wing will convey more details of the Survey to Force members through various channels shortly and the key findings will also be uploaded on POINT. Meanwhile, a full review of the Survey Strategy is being conducted upon completion of the four-year survey cycle.

*Turn to Features to see the survey results