The Ordinance affects the Force primarily in the areas of employment and provision of services to both internal and external customers. The Ordinance binds the Government, but does not cover Government functions and the exercise of powers. Therefore, while providing services to members of the public, such as dealing with victims or looking after the rights of detainees, are covered by the Ordinance, pursuit and arrest of criminals and locating wanted persons are not. A full version of the Ordinance is available on this website: www.hklii.org/hk/legis/en/ord/602/.

To prepare the Force for the new Ordinance, Support Wing has taken a series of measures, including organising workshops, producing a Training Day Package for Junior Police Officers and Inspectors/Senior Inspectors, conducting a Force-wide compliance review of policy and procedures, and reviewing HQO 145/2000 Part 1 - Discrimination Ordinances.

Race Discrimination Ordinance Workshop

To raise Force members' awareness, Support Wing, in conjunction with the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), organised a series of workshops on application of the Ordinance for a total of 674 officers at ranks of Inspector to Chief Superintendent in December last year.

Ms Cynthia Lam, Senior Training Officer from the EOC, conducted the first workshop on December 3, covering employment related matters. Defining race and employment during her presentation, Ms Lam explained: "Race means a person's race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. Employment means a contract of service or apprenticeship, or a contract to personally do any work. The Ordinance protects the job applicant and the employee from racial discrimination and harassment. It also covers all human resources management processes, such as recruitment, promotion, transfer, training, terms of employment, and dismissal."

She went on to explain the unlawful acts under the Ordinance, including direct discrimination (a person is treated less favourably on the grounds of race), indirect discrimination (same rules or requirements are set for everyone, but they have adverse impact on people of a particular racial group, unless they serve a legitimate purpose and bear a rational and proportionate connection to the objectives), and harassment (engages in unwelcome conduct).

The second and third workshops were held on December 9 and 10, conducted by Dr Ferrick Chu, Head, Policy & Research, EOC, who covered the provision of goods, services and facilities.

Explaining the meaning of provision of services, Dr Chu said: "In the police context, provision of services cover the services provided for both external customers (members of the public) and internal customers (Force members). A major difference between the Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO) in Hong Kong and the UK is that in the UK, the RDO covers Government functions while the RDO in Hong Kong does not." He further explained that Government functions mean activities only performed by the Government and have no equivalent activities in the private sector. In the Police context, for example, stop and search, arrest, crime investigation, and detention and locating wanted persons, are considered Government functions and are excluded from the Ordinance. However, it is important to note that although detention is not covered by the Ordinance, the way the Police treat detainees could fall into the provision of services because provision of accommodation and food is also available in various fields in the private sector.

Training Day Package on discrimination ordinances

In addition to organising the workshops, Support Wing is working closely with the Police College on the production of a Training Day Package on various discrimination ordinances. It is expected that the package will be rolled out later this month. The Training Day Package will be divided into two parts - Part 1 is a revision of the existing discrimination ordinances while Part 2 concentrates on the Race Discrimination Ordinance. Through a number of police-related scenarios illustrated in the package, frontline officers will be able to learn more about the new Ordinance, particularly direct and indirect racial discrimination, as well as racial harassment.

Force-wide Compliance Review of Policy and Procedures

Support Wing has also initiated a Force-wide compliance review of policy and procedures. All Formations and Policy Wings are now reviewing their policies, systems, rules, work procedures or practice under their purviews to ensure that they comply with the Ordinance. It is expected that the review will complete by the end of next month.

Review of HQO No. 145/2000 - Part 1 Discrimination Ordinances

As part of this exercise, HQO 145/2000 will be reviewed to incorporate the requirements of the Race Discrimination Ordinance. Also, a general Force Equality Policy will be produced for inclusion in the new HQO.

Equal Opportunities Website

Reference materials relevant to discrimination ordinances can be accessed using the KM Portal through this path: POINT > Knowledge Management > Knowledge Map > Operation and Support > Support > Support Branch > Regulations > Equal Opportunities.

The measures listed above have been designed to ensure that the Force is ready to deal with the complicated and contentious issues surrounding discrimination.

For any enquiry relating to discrimination ordinances and implementation of the Race Discrimination Ordinance, officers may contact CIP FD&AIC SUP Onyx Lau.

Dr Ferrick Chu, Head, Policy & Research, Equal Opportunities Commission, speaks of provision of goods, services and facilities, at a workshop