Hongkong Policing System

The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF; Chinese: 香港警務處) is the primary law

enforcement, investigation agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security
Bureau of Hong Kong. It was established by the British Hong Kong government on 1
May 1844. The 'Royal' title was bestowed upon the HKPF for their efforts in quelling
communist riots in 1967. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKP) reverted to its
former name after the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to
People's Republic of China.

Pursuant to the one country, two systems principle, HKPF is officially independent of the

jurisdiction of the of Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China, which
may not interfere with Hong Kong's local law enforcement affairs. All HKPF officers are
employed as civil servants and hence required to uphold their political neutrality.
The HKPF consists of some 34,000 officers, including the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police
Force, civil servants, and its Marine Region(3,000 officers and 143 vessels as of 2009);
this represents the second-highest police officer-citizen ratio in the world.
Hongkong Police History
A police force has been serving Hong Kong since shortly after the island was
established as a colony in 1841. On 30 April 1841, 12 weeks after the British landed in
Hong Kong, Captain Charles Elliot established a policing authority in the new colony,
empowering Captain William Caine to enforce Qing law in respect of local inhabitants
and "British Police Law" for "non-natives". By October 1842, an organized police force
(still under the direction of Caine who was also Chief Magistrate) was routinely bringing
criminals before the courts for trial. Caine's role as head of the police force ended when
its first Superintendent was appointed on 22 February 1844, Captain Haly of the 41st
Madras Native Infantry. The formal establishment of the force was gazetted on 1 May
1844.
The 1950s saw the commencement of Hong Kong's 40-year rise to global prominence,
during which time the Hong Kong Police tackled many issues that have challenged
Hong Kong's stability. Between 1949 and 1989, Hong Kong experienced several huge
waves of immigration from mainland China, most notably 1958–62. In the 1970s and
1980s, large numbers of Vietnamese boat people arrived in Hong Kong, posing
challenges first for marine police, secondly for officers who manned the dozens of
camps in the territory and lastly for those who had to repatriate them. The force was
granted the use of the title ‘royal’ in 1969 for its handling of the Hong Kong 1967 riots
renaming it the Royal Hong Kong Police Force.
In 1974, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was created to give
government wide-ranging powers to investigate corruption. At the turn of the 1980s, the
Hong Kong Police Force began marketing itself as "Asia's Finest". The recruitment of
Europeans to the force ceased in 1994, and in 1995 the Royal Hong Kong Police took
responsibility for patrolling the boundary with China. Prior to 1995, the British Army had
operated the border patrol. The force played a prominent role in the process of
the handover of sovereignty in 1997 and continues to perform ceremonial flag-raising on
each anniversary.
In the 2010s, the police force played a prominent role in relation to the 2014 Hong Kong
protests and 2019 Hong Kong protests. Following Chris Tang's appointment as the
Commissioner of Police in November 2019, the police force changed its motto from "We
serve with pride and care", which had been used for more than 20 years, to "Serving
Hong Kong with honor, duty and loyalty. The Economist suggested that this change
would curry favor with the central government of China.
HKPF-Organization and structure
The Commissioner of Police serves as the commander of the HKPF and reports directly
to the Secretary for Security. The HKPF is divided into 5 primary departments:
Operations and Support, Crime and Security, Personnel and Training, Management
Services, and Finance, Administration & Planning .
Structure: The Force is commanded by the Commissioner of Police who is assisted by
two Deputy Commissioners. One Deputy Commissioner supervises all operational
matters and the other is responsible for the direction and co-ordination of the
management of the Force, including personnel, training and management services.
The Force Headquarters is made up of five departments: Operations; Crime and
Security; Personnel and Training; Management Services; and Finance, Administration
and Planning. For day-to-day policing, the Force is organized into six Regions: Hong
Kong Island, Kowloon East, Kowloon West, New Territories North, New Territories
South and Marine. The Regions are largely autonomous in their day-to-day operation
and management matters, and each has its own headquarters which comprises
administration and operations wings, and traffic and criminal investigation units. Each
Region is divided into Districts and Divisions and in a few cases, Sub-divisions.
Currently there are 24 Districts.
Operations: Force operational matters are coordinated by the Operations Department,
which comprises Operations Wing, Support Wing and six Regions. The department is
charged with the formulation and implementation of operational policies, the monitoring
of activities and the efficient deployment of personnel and resources.
Operations Wing co-ordinates counter-terrorism, internal security, anti-illegal
immigration measures, bomb disposal operations, major public order events and
contingency planning for major incidents and is also responsible for the Police Dog Unit.
Support Wing oversees the Support Branch, Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB)
and Traffic Branch Headquarters (TBHQ).
The Support Branch is responsible for the formulation and execution of policies in
relation to operational support and occupational safety and health for both the regular
and auxiliary Forces. It is also responsible for various licensing functions of the Force
and offering assistance to other relevant licensing authorities. Moreover, management
of the Force fleet of some 2,500 vehicles and the driver cadre are also under its
purview.
Crime and Security: The Crime and Security Department is responsible for Force
policies regarding the prevention and investigation of crimes and security matters. The
Crime Wing consists of a number of operational bureau and specialized support units.
The operational bureau deal with specific areas of criminal activities, whereas the
specialized support units provide support services to various operational units in the
Force and handle policy matters on issues including child abuse, domestic violence and
witness protection. The Security Wing provides VIP protection, liaises with consulates
and co-ordinates security operations, including counter-terrorism and related training.
Personnel and Training: The Personnel Wing (P Wing) is responsible for all core
human resources management functions, including recruitment, promotion, career
development, conditions of service, discipline, staff relations and welfare matters.
The Recruitment Division also launches different youth engagement projects, such as
the Police Mentorship Programme and the Auxiliary Undergraduate Scheme to provide
young people with the opportunity to meet serving police officers and understand the
diversified nature of police work.

Management Services: The Information Systems Wing is comprised of the Business

Services Bureau, Information Technology Branch and Communications Branch.

The Business Services Bureau, consisting of the Business Services Division, E-Police
Division, Security and Support Division and Major Systems Division, co-ordinates
information technology and communications business needs of the whole Force and is
responsible for information security. The E-Police Division supports the Force social
media and provides citizen-centric services through delivery of the e-Report Centre,
Police Public Page and HK Police Mobile App.

Finance, Administration and Planning: The Finance Wing is responsible for the

financial management, forensic accounting and support services, stores management
and internal audit of the Force. The Administration Wing looks after the management of
civilian staff and Force establishment matters. The Planning and Development Branch
(P&D) is responsible for the planning and development of new Police buildings and
facilities. Through monitoring the territory’s infrastructural development and population
growth, the P&D co-ordinates planning strategies on Force properties and
accommodation. It also oversees large-scale maintenance and improvement
programmes for all existing Police buildings and facilities to ensure proper maintenance
and to enhance their quality, standards and operational efficiency.