Force launches "Senior Police Call"
programme
The "Senior Police Call" soft launching ceremony took place on December 21 before a large gathering of about 200 elders from various Police Districts and Fight Crime Committee members. Performing a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Director of Operations Hung Hak-wai, Director of Management Services Tang How-kong and Assistant Commissioner (Support) Chiu Wai-yin led six Regional Commanders and the elderly representatives from each Police Region to announce the slogan of the "Senior Police Call" programme: "Elderly join hands with police to fight crime and strive for safety and harmony".
Mr Hung pointed out that Police Districts had been implementing projects targeting the elderly with positive feedback and results. In the views of both the participants and the Force's community partners, the projects had a positive impact on the community. The projects had enhanced not only the confidence of elders and their sense of belonging, but also the partnership between police and community stakeholders.
In 2013, Mr Hung continued, the Force would consolidate Police Districts' projects for the elderly into a single "Senior Police Call" programme for the benefit of the community. The objectives of this move were to enhance communication with the elderly, offer them an opportunity to develop their potentials, forge partnership with the elderly to fight and prevent crimes, and promote their personal safety and awareness of road safety.
In the ceremony, Mr Tang conducted a discussion forum on the topic of "Productive Ageing" with five guest speakers: Prof. Chan Cheung-ming, Chairman of the Elderly Commission and Director of Lingnan University, Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies; Dr Lum Yat-sang, Director of Hong Kong University Sau Po Centre on Ageing; Dr Cheng Kam-chung, Chairman of Road Safety Campaign Committee, Road Safety Council and Member of the Elderly Commission; Mr Tan Tick-yee, Chief Social Work Officer, Social Welfare Department; and Ms Chan Man-yee, Chief Officer (Elderly Service), Hong Kong Council of Social Service. Each guest speaker gave a short talk on their respective elderly-related work and expressed their views of the "Senior Police Call" programme.
Speaking at the discussion forum, Police Public Relations Branch Superintendent (SP) Chan Wing-mee pointed out that the Force was poised to expand the programme in a faster pace for Force-wide implementation. At the present stage, the Force was consolidating the elderly projects in Police Districts and would encourage those Districts without any elderly project to start setting up one.
SP Chan said a Chinese naming and logo design competition for the programme would be held next month and at the same time a Central Advisory Board would be formed. It was anticipated that all Police District would have worked out their elderly projects before the formal launching ceremony at the end of this year.
The "Senior Police Call" programme has drawn an active participation by elders. While a 68-year-old elder from Tuen Mun and a 74-year-old from Sham Shui Po acted as masters of ceremony, many other elders expressed their views of the programme in the discussion forum.
The launching ceremony marked the Force's closer co-operation with the community in the year to come and laid a solid foundation for the further development of the "Senior Police Call" programme.
Mr Hung, Mr Tang, and Ms Chiu officiate at the
launching ceremony with Regional Commanders and elder representatives
from Police Districts
Mr Tang conducts a forum on productive ageing
Mr Hung thanks two elders for performing MC roles
The
senior citizens are impressed by fight crime activities 