Following the successful operation to police the WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2005, the Force will face another challenge posed by policing the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events in Hong Kong next year.

In July 2005, the International Olympic Committee accepted the proposal by the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad to allow Hong Kong to host the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events.

The Events comprise three distinct disciplines - Jumping, Dressage and Eventing (which includes cross-country), with both individual and team categories, whilst the Paralympic Equestrian Competition consists of only one discipline - Dressage. They will be held at two competition venues, namely the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue (Sha Tin) on the site of the former Hong Kong Sports Institute and the Penfold Park, and for the cross-country competition, at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue (Beas River) on the grounds of the Beas River Country Club and the Hong Kong Golf Club in Sheung Shui. The Olympic Events will be held between August 9 and 20, 2008, whilst the Paralympic Events have been tentatively scheduled to take place between September 7 and 11, 2008.

To meet the challenges and commitments posed by hosting this world renowned and prestigious event, the Government has adopted a three-tier planning structure (see chart below). The Equestrian Committee (EC), chaired by the Chief Secretary, Mr Raphael Hui, is the highest tier of the structure and is responsible for policy decisions and directions on the organisation and staging of the Events. As its executive arm, the Equestrian Company has been established under the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer, Mr WK Lam, to implement policy and direction at a working level.

The second tier of the structure is the Government Steering Committee chaired by Mrs Carrie Lam, the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, whilst the third tier is made up of six Co-ordination Committees which oversee various key functional areas, including security and accreditation; quarantine and medical services; transport and traffic arrangements; airport reception and accommodation; cultural activities, education and community involvement; and media, publicity and community relations.

The Force is represented at all levels of the Government's planning structure, including Commissioner Tang King-shing on the Equestrian Committee, Assistant Commissioner (Operations) (ACP OPS) Koo Sii-hong and Commandant Police Tactical Unit (C PTU) Suen Kwai-leung on the Government Steering Committee, and various Force representatives on the Co-ordination Committees.

Force two-tier planning structure

Drawing on the lessons learnt from the WTO Ministerial Conference, the Force has adopted a two-tier planning structure, which comprises the Force Steering Committee (FSC) chaired by Director of Operations Tsang Wai-hung, assisted by ACP OPS. All Regional Commanders and Assistant Commissioners from Policy Wings are also sitting on the committee to direct strategic policy issues and to guide the overall planning process.

To implement policy decisions at the working level, a Force Planning Group (FPG) has been formed, chaired by C PTU and comprising all Regional Senior Superintendents (Operations), the District Commanders of Airport and Railway Districts and five Force Working Group Chairmen as members. The FPG co-ordinates the work of the five Force Working Groups, which are charged with planning and preparing the Equestrian Events within the following designated areas of responsibility:

* Crime Support - chaired by Senior Superintendent Choi Yuen-han from Organised Crime and Triad Bureau;

* Traffic - chaired by Senior Superintendent Stephen Verralls from Traffic Management Bureau;

* Public Relations and Publicity - chaired by Senior Superintendent Au Yeung Chiu-kong from Police Public Relations Branch;

* Information and Communications Technologies - chaired by Senior Superintendent Chow Oi-wang from Business Services Bureau, and

* Human Resources - chaired by Senior Superintendent Cheng See-hing from Catering, Clubs and Sports.

In addition to the five Force Working Groups, a Centralised Special Duties Team has also been established to prepare and plan Equestrian Events under the leadership of C PTU. At present, the team, comprising four Superintendents, three Chief Inspectors and three Senior Inspectors, are all working on a part-time basis, in addition to their day-to-day duties. The team is divided into four groups each assigned with specific areas of responsibilities.

The Force has also set up the Force Intelligence Centre to provide services to this two-tier planning structure.

To learn experiences of similar events in the past, the Force invited Mr Alphus Hinds, who was formerly the Head of Risk Management for the 2006 Asian Games and has experience of working at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, to deliver a presentation on "Security Concerns During Major Sporting Events" to Force members in March this year. He also visited venues and discussed issues relating to the planning and preparation for Equestrian Events with both members of the Force and external stakeholders. The insights provided by Mr Hinds have proved extremely beneficial and will be of great assistance to all concerned in planning and preparing the Events.

To address the expectancies of Force members and in line with the best practices identified during the WTO Ministerial Conference in 2005, the Force will launch an Internal Awareness Campaign (IAC) by setting up of a Web Corner on POINT and through articles in OffBeat to keep Force members abreast of issues relating to Equestrian Events and the progress of planning and preparations as well as any possible implications that might significantly affect the Force.

A Strategic Briefings Series (SBS) will also be implemented, comprising five phases targeting Chief Inspectors and above, with the first briefing to be held in mid-July. A briefing package will also be developed as part of the IAC to ensure that junior officers not attending the SBS are kept informed of developments.

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Handover and to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Events, Hong Kong will host the "Good Luck Beijing - HKSAR 10th Anniversary Cup", which will be held between August 11 and 13, this year, with August 14 being a fall-back day. As with Equestrian Events, the same two competition venues will be used.

Commenting on staging the Equestrian Events in Hong Kong, Director of Operations Tsang Wai-hung said: "It is a great honour for Hong Kong to be given the opportunity to host the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Events. We will certainly be in the international spotlight, not just the Force but also the whole of Hong Kong. Therefore, what will ensure the success of the Events must be a community wide and multi-agency effort. Policing Equestrian Events will be quite different from any other operations that the Force handled in the past.

"The Equestrian Events are not just another large international gathering, not another domestic event, and not just any other sporting event. We all need to think 'outside of the box', take what we have learnt elsewhere and apply it all to this special occasion.

"The people around the world are eagerly looking forward to next year's Olympic Games. Nowadays, security and safety are of paramount importance and it is the responsibility of each and every member of the Force to ensure that the Olympics will be a big success in Hong Kong. Hosting an Olympic event provides another opportunity for us to show we are a front-runner in policing major international events, just as we had done during the WTO Ministerial Conference," Mr Tsang added.

Force Planning Group meeting in progress

Head of Risk Management for the 2006 Asian Games, Mr Alphus Hinds, talks on "Security Concerns During Major Sporting Events

Director of Operations Tsang Wai-hung presents a souvenir to Mr Alphus Hinds