Newly appointed and re-appointed members of the Complaints Prevention Committee (CPC) for the new term of July 2007 to June 2009, held their first meeting on July 26 and immediately discussed important matters.

They heard a briefing given by the new Chairman, Superintendent Ma Shun-kwong from the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO), New Territories, on the way forward for the three working groups which were reshuffled following a review of the CPC's composition and functions in May 2007 to take charge of publicising and promoting complaints prevention; publishing a CPC bulletin and enhancing closer liaison with Formations and the community.

It was also CPC's 58th meeting since it was established in 1992. Sitting on the CPC now are 15 newly appointed members nominated by Major Formations as well as seven re-appointed members.

Mr Ma said the Publicity and Promotion Working Group aims at organising one large-scale event per year to promote complaints prevention messages. In recent years, the CPC organised competitions on complaints prevention slogans, essay competition and production of a prevention training video also known as the 'Force Oscar', as well as the related prize presentation ceremonies. For this year, it is planning to launch another campaign at the end of this year.

The CPC bulletin had proved to be a useful tool in disseminating complaints prevention messages among Force members, Mr Ma continued. The CPC Bulletin Working Group aims at publishing three issues per financial year. The last issue was revamped and published early last month with a new look and contents.

The third working group will endeavour to raise awareness of complaints prevention by strengthening liaison with Formations, community organisations and other stakeholders. Apart from serving as a link between the CPC and staff, the working group would also put more effort on involving the community by giving them a better understanding of police work in the coming year.

The CPC was established with a view to heightening awareness of complaints prevention through education, publicity, community involvement and revised strategies. There are 25 members comprising representatives from Major Formations, Complaints & Internal Investigations Branch (C&IIB) Headquarters and CAPO regional offices, including Chief Inspector Cheung Suk-chi and Senior Inspector Rene Lam Suk-man, both from C&IIB, who serve as Secretary and Assistant Secretary respectively.