Public Relations

The Police and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce jointly
administer the Good Citizen Award and the Good Citizen of the Year
Award Schemes. These were introduced in 1972 and 1984 respectively
and continue to be effective vehicles for gaining and recognising public
support in the fight against crime. The schemes have given recognition to
a total of 2 653 public-spirited citizens.

Telephone hotlines and the Crime Information Forms continue to be
useful conduits through which the public channel information to the
Police. In 1997, 45 375 calls and 1 737 completed forms were received.
These sources of information have led to positive results and arrests.

The Junior Police Call (JPC) Scheme is a bridge between Police and the
youth. At the end of 1997, its membership reached 205 086. The scheme
helps guide its members towards awareness of their civic responsibilities,
and becoming law-abiding citizens. In conjunction with Radio Television
Hong Kong (RTHK), the Force produces a weekly radio programme,
Voice of JPC, which provides a good publicity forum for the
co-ordination and promotion of youth activities.

The Force has been producing, jointly with RTHK, two TV programmes:
Police Magazine and Police Report, which are broadcast on local
Chinese and English channels. The programmes include appeals for
information on undetected crimes, advice on road safety and updates of
crime trends. The Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB) provides a
similar service to Cable TV News Channels. To widen the scope of
service, the Radio Traffic Studio in PPRB delivers peak-hour traffic
reports to the public through RTHK.

Information on crime, police action and activities is disseminated to all
news organisations in Hong Kong around the clock through PPRB.
Professional staff seconded from the Information Services Department
deal with media enquiries and assist media coverage at major scenes of
crime and incident.

In the year, they handled 215 000 media enquiries, organised 326 press
conferences and briefings, attended 417 incidents, and issued 3 452 press
releases. They also produce a fortnightly newspaper, OffBeat, monitor
media coverage of police and criminal activities; and conduct various
campaigns, major ones including Fight Crime and Police Recruitment.

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