1. According to Police General Order 18-13, a police driver shall not leave his vehicle unattended at a public place. However, there may be occasions when it is necessary to do so.

2. The occasions when doing so is considered necessary are:

(i) to assist either a member of the public or another police officer;

(ii) to summon assistance in the event of a breakdown or accident;

(iii) where the driver is a crime officer and all members of his team are required to attend the scene of an incident. If circumstances allow, the safety of the vehicle should be checked periodically;

(iv) where the vehicle is a motorcycle, the driver shall park it so as not to cause danger, inconvenience or obstruction to other road users. A motorcycle shall normally be parked at the main stand. The side stand shall only be used when the use of the main stand is precluded by adverse road conditions, and

(v) where a vehicle is being self-driven. [PGO 18-13(1)(f)]

In such cases, and before leaving his vehicle, the driver shall remove and retain the vehicle ignition keys, secure all doors and windows and, if possible, inform another member of his party or RCCC of his intention to leave the vehicle unattended.

3. According to FPM 18-13, when it is operationally undesirable or impractical to proceed to a free parking area or police facility because of the distance from the scene, lack of communications or other important considerations and there is a car park in the vicinity, the driver may park there upon payment of a parking fee and claim reimbursement later. An appropriate entry should be made in the notebook.

(This column is contributed by the Complaints and Internal Investigations Branch)