The Force has recognised the importance of promoting a culture of integrity and honesty for many years, Director of Management Services (DMS) Mike Dowie told 200 Hong Kong Government Ethics Officers at a meeting to launch the Government's Ethical Leadership Programme at North Point Government Offices recently.

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Ms Denise Yue, chaired the meeting. The Force was one of the three departments and bureaux asked to present their own integrity management initiatives at the meeting.

In his presentation, Mr Dowie introduced the Force's integrity management initiatives, functions of the Force Anti-Corruption Strategy Steering Committee, and the 2006 Force Anti-Corruption Strategy.

He pointed out that the Force's long-term commitment to reducing corruption and misconduct in all forms had been rewarded with a steady and sustained decline in the corruption reports against police received by ICAC. The Force had also earned extremely high approval ratings in public surveys.

Under the Ethical Leadership Programme recently launched by the Government, each department and bureau would nominate an Ethics Officer. These officers will be asked to plan, coordinate and monitor the integrity management initiatives of their department or bureau. Ultimately, it is hoped that a network of Ethics Officers will be formed to share information and experience on an ongoing basis.

Mr Dowie has been appointed as the Force Ethics Officer and Mr Fan Sik-ming, CSP, Complaints and Internal Investigations Branch, will assist him with this task. The core duties of an Ethics Officer are:

Cultivation of Values and Setting a High Standard of Probity

This will necessitate developing and reviewing the Force's codes on conduct and discipline to ensure that they are in line with prevailing government policies, community expectations and changing operational needs.

Procedure and System Review

This will involve reviewing implementation of ICAC Corruption Prevention Department (CPD) assignment studies and ensuring that steps have been taken to prevent recurrence of any corruption or malpractice exposed in these studies. There will also be a focus on the effective planning and identification of areas worthy of future study by the CPD.

Training and Integrity Culture Building

The aim of this duty will be two-fold. Firstly, it will require communicating the conduct and standard of probity expected of all members of staff. Secondly, it will be necessary, through training and integrity awareness programmes, to enhance staff understanding of corruption and the need to avoid a conflict of interest.

Guidance and Enforcement

This will concern encouraging the swift reporting of all suspected criminal cases to the appropriate law enforcement agency and following up on ICAC Operations Review Committee referrals for consideration of disciplinary and administrative actions.

Role of Force Ethics Officer

Speaking about his role as the Force Ethics Officer, Mr Dowie emphasised that the Force had already done much to promote the issue of ethics amongst staff. He noted: "As you all know, the Force is governed by the provisions of the Police Force Ordinance and the Police Force (Discipline) Regulations anyway. We have a specific chapter - Chapter 6 - in Police General Orders, and Force Procedures Manual that is devoted to conduct and discipline. And the Force Discipline Manual sets out formal procedures for enforcing discipline in the Force."

"But, we've come a long way in developing other integrity management strategies as well," he pointed out. "Our Force Anti-Corruption Strategy was issued last November and circulars and orders are regularly published that cover ethical issues that the Force believes, if left unchecked, will lead to corruption and misconduct. Here, I'm thinking of indebtedness, associating with undesirable characters, excessive gambling and questionable investments. I'm well confident that these efforts are in line with Government policies, the expectations of our customers in the community, and our own operational needs."

Force's anti-corruption efforts

Mr Dowie also spoke about the Force's anti-corruption efforts. On this subject, he said: "Yes, we have a very close relationship with the CPD. I chair a meeting twice a year with senior members of the Force and the CPD to discuss study areas and implementation of their recommendations. Internal Investigation Office (IIO) is responsible for monitoring CPD assignments and they're currently uploading these assignment reports onto KM for other Force members to access. Have a look at them. They give a new perspective on many areas of police work and constitute excellent reference material for board preparation and private study."

When asked about training and nurturing a culture of integrity, Mr Dowie noted: "Yes, as you all know, we've had the Living the Values workshops to really promote Force values, particularly integrity and honesty, amongst our members. These values can be accessed by all staff through POINT and are regularly promoted in OffBeat. IIO also issues corruption prevention bulletins from time to time as well."

He went on to say: "We have guidelines on behavioural issues and conflicts of interest and these guidelines are part of a constantly evolving system. They are a staple of most of our training courses and I can't believe that there is anyone left in this Force now who does not recognise and understand the Force's commitment to the values of integrity and honesty."

On the fourth issue of guidance and enforcement, Mr Dowie had this to say: "We have an established reporting mechanism for all complaints and I encourage everyone to use it. There is a new enhanced Staff Support System that provides advice and support to officers who make reports of misconduct, criminal activity or corruption against fellow officers. Personnel Wing is able to arrange transfers at short notice or enlist psychological services if necessary. And, there're special procedures for sexual harassment complaints that ensure confidentiality throughout the entire investigative process."

Each Ethics Officer is expected to formulate an integrity management plan for his or her own department or bureau. The Civil Service Bureau has identified three factors necessary to ensure the success of the plan, namely:

(a) highly visible commitment and involvement of top management;

(b) understanding and co-operation by all levels of staff, and

(c) persistence in implementation.

On the Force's own plans, Mr Dowie said: "We, like all other departments and bureaux, have just completed a stock taking of our current integrity management initiatives. I was greatly heartened by the efforts being made by the Force in this regard. We now need to assess our inadequacies and the risks that exist in this area, before developing our own action plan. There'll be a full consultation process throughout and I'm hoping everyone can approach this task with an open mind and contribute fully."