Early Police Work

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The main function of a police force is maintenance of law and order. However, shortly after Hong Kong became a colony, when everything was in its infancy, the Force had to shoulder other responsibilities as well. For example, the early Hong Kong Police Force was in charge of fire-fighting. From 1895 onwards, the Fire Brigade was part of the Police Force and all fire fighters were policemen. Until the outbreak of the Second World War, the head of the Police Force served concurrently as Superintendent of the Fire Brigade.

The Force in its early days was also in charge of the registration of Hong Kong's population and immigration. It issued all early documents for identification in Hong Kong and dealt with the problems of illegal immigrants. These duties continued until 1961 when the Immigration Department was detached to form a separate entity.

Issuing licence plates

Traffic was another aspect of the Force's duties in the early days. The work included directing traffic, setting and enforcing traffic regulations, and issuing driving licences and licence plates. For this reason, the licence plate number of the Commissioner of Police is "1". This arrangement continued until 1965 when the Transport Department was set up. However, the Force continues directing traffic and issuing traffic fines. The Force's traffic duties did not start with the advent of automobiles in Hong Kong - they began much earlier when less advanced modes of transport, like sedan chairs and rickshaws, required licences issued by the Force.

Issuing dog licences

Other licences issued by the Force included dog licences. It issued licences to all registered dogs in accordance with the Dogs Ordinance. Watchdogs were exempted from licencing fees. The Force also dealt with missing and stray dogs. Besides dog licences, the Force also issued licences for firearms.

In its early days, the Force also enforced the Food and Drugs Ordinance, Dangerous Goods Ordinance and Weights and Measures Regulations Ordinance. It protected consumers by handling all complaints.

Handling municipal & postal matters

The early Police Force also inspected markets and maintained cleanliness in the streets because the Captain Superintendent of Police was an ex-officio member of the Sanitary Board (forerunner of the Urban Council). Inspectors of the Force even inspected licensed brothels.

The Force in those days took on postal duties as well. Apart from maintaining law and order in isolated places, police officers stationed in those places also sold postage stamps and provided postal services. For this reason, police stations in faraway locations were always recorded as having post offices on their premises.

Force members served in the Fire Brigade, which was a sub-department of the Force in the early days