The Junior Police Officer Development Learning Division has officially become a "Quality Management Organisation" certified by the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA) to be the holder of an International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001:2000 certificate.

A memorable occasion for JPO Development Learning Division Staff

In his speech, Mr Thomas said the ISO Award is a recognition of the tremendous efforts by the Division in providing high quality training to serving officers. Last year, about 3,500 officers attended programmes run by the Division, covering a multitude of subjects, which are necessary in ensuring that the Force provides the highest standards of service to the community.

"Obtaining ISO certification is a significant step forward in developing a quality assurance mechanism for training in the Force. This is the first stepping-stone on a path that will hopefully eventually lead to certification of the future Hong Kong Police College. Such an achievement will provide local and international recognition that our services have reached the highest standards as certified by an independent and globally recognised professional body.

"We feel particularly honoured to have received the ISO Award because very few training institutes in Hong Kong have received the same award," Mr Thomas noted.

Generic management system

Also speaking at the presentation ceremony, Mr S K Chan said the ISO 9001 standard is a generic management system designed to be applicable to any organisation regardless of its size, nature of business and sector. In the spirit of ISO 9001, it can be applied to every aspect of business, including training, which is an important long-term investment of a company.

"The award of ISO 9001 certificate demonstrates the commitment of the JPO Development Learning Division in achieving a higher service quality and their relentless pursuit of excellence.

"With the increasing awareness of quality management, the Hong Kong Police Force is a role model in practising management system. Once again, I would like to congratulate everyone at the JPO Development Learning Division. I am sure with their pledge to continual improvement, the Division will continue to excel," he added.

As stated by Mr Thomas, the ISO Award is a vision becoming a reality for Superintendent Chan Wan-lung of the JPO Development Learning Division.

In an interview with OffBeat, Mr Chan thanked the senior management for supporting his suggestion to gain ISO 9001 certification.

Vision and Mission

He pointed out that his Division has distinct "vision" and "mission" of enhancing the professional ability of serving junior police officers, providing the best quality training for them so as to increase their professional knowledge, and encouraging and assisting them to seek personal development.

Speaking on the process of seeking accreditation, Mr Chan said all his instructors and staff realised the importance of "continued improvement" and were able to formally put in place a "full participation" working operation.

"At first, more than 20 instructors and staff attended a three-day training course to learn the ISO spirit, its assessment scope, criteria and the series of preparation and work details required in the path towards accreditation.

"On completion of a series of training, efforts were directed to adjusting internal operations and management systems, correcting the differences between operation/management systems and accreditation criteria, and compiling management codes. Finally, the assessment organisation carried out accreditation work. The whole process took more than one year, demanding full participation under pressure and stress. Along the way, it evolved into dedication, co-operation and a sense of mission. With the assessment organisation's final comment of 'no fault found', success finally came for us!" he added.

Looking ahead, Mr Chan said the fact that the Division is up to the standards of international quality management not only shows the internal training of the Force has reached a high level, but also strengthens confidence to build a Police College of international standard. This accreditation experience will serve as a reference to other units considering seeking accreditation. Staff having gone through ISO training can also apply their knowledge in the formations they will work in future by assisting in implementing quality management concepts. In this way, the management of the Force will be elevated to an even higher level!" he noted.

Instructors and staff of the JPO Development and Learning Division are as happy and excited with the ISO accreditation as Mr Chan.

One of the instructors, Woman Senior Inspector Grace Mak, said the accreditation process had given her and her colleagues valuable experience and better understanding of the operations of their Division. "I think everyone of the staff will benefit in terms of efficiency, service quality, continual improvement for JPOs and operations of quality management systems," she added.