The first phase of the eagerly awaited Strategic Briefing Series (SBS) for policing operation for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events was launched on July 12 with two identical briefings delivered in the Auditorium of PHQ.

The SBS is part of the Force Awareness Campaign to raise readiness for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events scheduled for August and September 2008. The SBS will keep Force members updated on the developments of the Events in terms of planning and preparation. It will culminate with a full briefing on the Commissioner's Operational Order in July 2008.

The briefings for phase one of the SBS were delivered by key officers involved in the planning and preparation for the Events. This phase aims at giving an introduction to the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events and a detailed briefing on the policing operation for the Good Luck Beijing - HKSAR 10th Anniversary Cup (the 2007 Event), which is an equestrian event being used to test many of the procedures and systems that will be implemented for the 2008 Events. It also provides an opportunity for overseas teams to try out competition venues and experience the condition of competing in Hong Kong.

Delivering an opening address at each of the briefing sessions, Assistant Commissioner (Operations) (ACP OPS) Koo Sii-hong informed the audience that the Force Awareness Campaign for the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in 2005 was identified in the After Action Review as a "Best Practice" and as one that had gone a long way in promoting internal communications and encouraging "buy in" during the planning stages of that operation. The same concept would be used for the operation of the Events.

More challenges to come

Mr Koo also highlighted the fact that the Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events were quite unlike any other events the Force has policed before and numerous challenges would have to be met in successfully policing the Events. He said he was confident that, with the full support of each and every member of the Force, the challenges would be met in the best traditions of the Force and the hosting of the Events would be a resounding success.

Following the opening address, Commandant Police Tactical Unit (C PTU) Suen Kwai-leung, Chairperson of the Force Planning Group, presented an overview of the preparations that had been made to date for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events and laid out the parameters within which the Events will be policed.

Immediately after C PTU's presentation, Security Wing Acting Superintendent Ho Yun-sing briefed the audience on the Threat Assessments for the 2007 and 2008 Events and highlighted some of the threats to previous Games.

After this, C PTU took the stage again to deliver a more detailed briefing on the 2007 Event, followed by Sha Tin Divisional Commander Chan Kin-hung and New Territories North (Operations) Superintendent Iain McNicol, who, as the Deputy Venue Commanders of the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venues in Sha Tin and Beas River respectively, gave detailed presentations on the policing plans for the two venues.

The next briefing was given by Catering, Clubs and Sports Senior Superintendent Cheng See-hing, Chairperson of the Human Resources Working Group, on the manpower plan for the 2007 Event. He highlighted the deployment principles and philosophy on which the plan is based, including the needs of adequate resources to ensure the integrity of each venue and a strong reserve of manpower to respond to any incident threatening the smooth running of the 2007 Event.

Organised Crime and Triad Bureau Senior Superintendent Choi Yuen-han, Chairperson of the Crime Support Working Group, then gave a presentation on the formation and deployment of Equestrian Event (EE) Crime Teams and the classification of Equestrian Events Related and Targeted Crimes, for which the teams will be responsible for investigation. The EE Crime Teams will be formed for both the 2007 and 2008 Events to ensure that all Equestrian Events crimes will be dealt with efficiently and effectively.

Police Public Relations Branch Senior Superintendent Au Yeung Chiu-kong, Chairperson of the Public Relations and Publicity Working Group, rounded off the equestrian related briefings by highlighting the importance of internal communications and working closely to make the operation a success.

The final speaker was SP OPS PHQ Barry Smith, who shared with the audience his experiences and observations gained during his recent visit to the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, where violent clashes broke out between the police and protesters. Although being an event with different parameters when compared with the hosting of the Equestrian Events, that occasion provided plenty of food for thought for the audience, as well as valuable insights to help with the overall preparation for the upcoming major international event.

Informative and useful

In closing the briefings, ACP OPS noted that they were extremely informative and useful, and all who were attending should be acquainted better with the challenges and special circumstances related to planning and preparing for such an important event as the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics when the eyes of the world will be on Hong Kong and China. He emphasised that the 2007 Event was an occasion that would be used to assess the viability and functionality of many of the systems and procedures that will be put in place for the 2008 Events, and that its importance could not be underestimated.

Following each briefing was a Q&A session during which the panel of speakers took very relevant questions from the floor. The questions covered a wide range of topics, including deployment of officers on the ground, management of live sites and ticket distribution. A summary of all the questions and answers was uploaded onto the 2008 Events Web Corner for the benefit of Force members.

As another initiative to promote internal communications and as an important aspect of the Force Awareness Campaign for the Events, a DVD briefing pack based on the contents of the SBS has been produced and copies of the disc have been distributed throughout the Force.