Officers attend PMDP in Australia
Chief Inspectors (CIP) Kelvin Kong Hok-lai and Kevin Ku Chin-pang attended a three-week Police Management Development Programme (PMDP) at the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM) in Manly and a one-week post course attachment in the New South Wales Police Force in Sydney, Australia, between mid-July and mid-August.
The 120th PMDP commenced on July 18 and concluded on August 5. The 29 participants of the programme came from the Force, Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption, New Zealand Police and United Kingdom's Serious Organised Crime Agency. Locally, seven Australian Police jurisdictions were represented.
The AIPM also welcomed a number of Visiting Fellows (VFs) to the programme. Superintendent (SP) Peter Tse Ming-yeung was one of the international VFs, along with representatives from the United Kingdom, Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America, and three other Australian Police jurisdictions.
SP Tse, who performed the role of one of the Syndicate Directors, stretched the participants' thinking and assessed their performances in classroom, syndicate and written assignments. The VFs' contributions ensured all participants benefited from the programme.
The level and depth of the PMDP was impressive. The presence of international participants and VFs enriched the diversity of the programme. The fact that they come from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds also enriched discussions and sharing of experience in classroom. The programme put the participants to the test in respect of environmental awareness and public value, and provided them with tools to enhance their ability and skill to work in an environment requiring an adaptive ability.
"I found the programme both challenging and rewarding. We were tested academically in that we spent considerable time researching and presenting assignments, which strategically analysed the business areas of our organisations. We learned the leadership behaviour and skill required to mobilise others to achieve organisational goals and how to analyse environmental trends that influence the objectives of policing and emergency services teams," said CIP Kong.
The syndicate groups of the PMDP were tasked to analyse some key issues related to leadership. Working in the groups, the syndicates researched and developed the issues they were assigned with and presented the results to the participants.
"We appreciate the significance of adopting an ethical approach to decision-making and recommend executive level decisions, particularly in the areas of corporate planning, human and financial resource management and public accountability. During the programme, it was evident that individuals learned more about themselves and group dynamics in the short time frame they had at the institute," CIP Ku said.
During the PMDP, Police College Deputy Director Philip Sham Wai-kin, who was attending a workshop in Canberra, took the opportunity to visit the AIPM in early August.
"I was very impressed with the very high standard of the training provided by the PMDP and the motivation and commitment of the programme participants. The visit to AIPM reinforced my belief of the need for our Force, as a modern police force, to have leaders who are capable of identifying and adopting the right policing approach through research and assessment, and at the same time are able to explain to a demanding public the rationale and reasons for adopting the approach," said Mr Sham.
"We are now working on how to incorporate the good practices of AIPM into our future command courses, with the Senior Command Course scheduled for November this year, serving as a pilot for revised content as well as learning delivery," he added.
Speaking at the final sharing session of the programme, SP Tse extolled: "It is a well structured programme. The evidence-based research methodology adopted in this course, which involved some pre-course readings, interactive classroom activities, and written essays on the individual issues of the Force, enhanced understanding of the leadership and organisational change concepts."
A graduation dinner was held on the final Thursday evening to celebrate the successful conclusion of the PMDP. The participants not only had forged a close bond among themselves, but also brought home newly acquired skills and a passion to remain adaptive and courageous on the leadership journey.
CIPs
Kong
Hok-lai (left) and Ku Chin-pang exchange souvenirs with Assistant
Commissioner Michael Corboy, Commander (Education and Training) of the
New South Wales Police Force