Superintendent (Operations) of Kowloon West Kim Adams said: "Our '999' operators have great experience, patience and skill in finding out such information even though a caller may be having problems of communication. But now we can call upon our partners at Christian Action, and this arrangement is a useful tool in case we have a real problem. Christian Action provides interpretation and consultation services for NEC minority communities. They are ideally suited to join hands with the Police," he noted.

SP Adams then quoted one instance a few years ago, where a Nepalese construction site watchman, new to his job, was tied-up and robbed at a construction site. He managed to dial '999', using his mobile phone, but could not explain to RCCC operators where he was or what had happened to him. It took some time before police officers could finally locate him.

Recently, ten members of Christian Action, who are well versed in South Asian languages of Urdu, Nepali, Punjabi and Hindi, were invited to visit KW RCCC. They toured the control room to see how '999' calls are handled, accompanied by Controller Paul Bailey, Chief Police Communications Officer Kowloon West Chan Kam-lun and Senior Police Communications Officer Maryann Mak Man-yi.

SPCO Mak told the visitors that during her 20 years of service working in every Regional Control Room in the Force, she had seen the number of NEC callers increase over the past four to five years, and recognised that the Force needs to do something about this. Not all calls to the Control Room from NEC callers were about emergencies. From time to time, "999" calls came from South Asian NEC tourists who had lost their passports or other important travel documents and needed advice on what to do in a strange land.

Following the tour of the Control Room, Mr Lok Poon, Manager of Christian Action, said he hopes that more similar visits will be organised. "It is a two way process. We can help the Police when they come across problems. With a better idea of how the Police work and building on our contacts with the Police along the way, we'll be in a better position to advise our NEC clients how to make the best use of Police services," he noted.

Two members of the visiting party, Ms Sarala Gurung, a Nepalese, and Ms Neelam Mumtaz from Pakistan, were most impressed with their first visit to a Police Control Room. Having seen how the "999" system works and how helpful Police operators are, they said they would tell their friends and colleagues the high level of professionalism they had seen.

The help of Christian Action was a welcome improvement and came with no overhead cost for the Force.

NEC visitors watch an RCCC officer handling "999" calls

The officer explains how "999" calls are handled