Andy CHONG CHINA DAILY More police officers, including new recruits, will be sent to mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as part of the Hong Kong Police Force's multi-pronged effort to strengthen knowledge about national development and national security work.
The commissioner of police of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Raymond Siu Chak-yee, told China Daily of the plans in a recent interview.
The police force will send more employees to the GBA cities to join exchange programs, which will help the officers learn about national development and increase the officers awareness and awareness of national security, Siu said.
Siu said that the Hong Kong police have much to learn from their mainland counterparts, especially on technology, now that the Police Force has included technology for policing in its Strategic Directions 2022 -- 2024 framework.
The Hong Kong police have regular contact with their mainland counterparts to exchange intelligence on cross-border crimes, and have joint anti-crime and anti-smuggling operations with the China Coast Guard, said Siu.
The police force and Tsinghua University also launched a 2.5 year part-time executive master of public administration program for officers in 2021, providing them with specialized and competency training. Siu was told by the first batch of participants that these courses are intensive and helpful.
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During the interview, Siu said that Hong Kong must remain alert to national security threats and thwart home-grown terrorism, as police have made arrests involving explosives, chemicals, and offensive weapons.
The Counter-terrorism CT Reporting Hotline, 63 -- 666 999, was set up on June 8 to encourage the public to provide intelligence on terrorism or violence related crimes, received about 6,900 messages or information in its first three months, according to Siu.
Some information provided by the public led to arrests involving chemicals used for manufacturing explosive and offensive weapons, pistol-like objects, electric stun guns, and others, according to Siu.
Siu pledged that the Force would strengthen its intelligence-gathering ability, enforcement, public education, and publicity to protect national security.
The Force will look for posts that incite others to commit illegal acts on social media daily. Siu said that the community should fight terrorism by reporting suspicious cases.
In June, the police launched a public education campaign named Safe Community Pledge, in which a range of stakeholders from the chemical industry, including the retailers and suppliers of chemicals, logistics companies, as well as laboratories of universities, secondary schools, and private practitioners, were invited to participate.
The police organized several seminars for the participating units to stay alert, abide by the law, and report suspicious circumstances in a timely manner.