Rupert Timothy Alan Dover (, born 19 August 1967) is a retired British-born Assistant Commissioner and Regional Commander of

Kowloon West Kowloon West is the western part of Kowloon, covering the Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po District, with Kowloon City District occasionally included. History The boundary of Kowloon West is not strictly defined and hence varies. While traditio ...

with the

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Po ...

. He retired from the police force in January 2024.

Early life

Dover attended public school in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, leaving

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

in 1985. After obtaining an

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

degree from a British university, Dover joined the then

Royal Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...

in 1988 as a probationary inspector.

Career

Dover joined the Royal Hong Kong Police Force in 1988 as Inspector. In 2002, Dover, as a Chief Inspector, was transferred to head the Airport Security Unit. Dover was involved in policing the

2014 Hong Kong protests A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014. The protests began after ...

(Umbrella Revolution). In 2016, he received the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government/Public Service. In 2019, he commanded the police response to protests about a proposed extradition law on 12 June when the protesters surrounded the

Legislative Council Complex The Legislative Council Complex (LegCo Complex) is the headquarters of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. The complex is located at 1 Legislative Council Road, Central, Hong Kong. Construction of the LegCo Complex commenced in 2008 and was ...

in an attempt to stall the bill's second reading. Dover and other officers, particularly non-Chinese, were criticised for their handling of the protests while also targeted with harassment and

doxing Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet. Historically, the term has been used interchangeably to refer to both the aggregation of this i ...

. In February 2020, Dover was promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police and took over the position of Regional Commander,

following the retirement of Michael Cheuk Hau Yip (卓孝業). Dover is retiring from the police force in 2024.

Property controversy

On 29 April 2020, in a tabloid-style investigation during which two ''Next Magazine'' journalists were arrested on allegations of loitering, it was alleged that Dover's house, and another property linked to Dover, in a village in

Clear Water Bay Peninsula :''The Chinese name'' 清水灣半島 ''should not be confused with Oscar by the Sea, a private housing estate in Tseung Kwan O.'' Clear Water Bay Peninsula (), is a peninsula in Sai Kung District, Hong Kong. The peninsula separates Junk Bay fro ...

had extant violations of building regulations. The property is built on government land, on conditions where residents are prohibited from selling, trading, or leasing out their houses. On 4 May, the

Lands Department The Lands Department is a government department under the Development Bureau responsible for all land matters in Hong Kong. Established in 1982, it comprises three functional offices: the Lands Administration Office, the Survey and Mapping Off ...

sent ten officials to inspect Dover's home to investigate. On 26 May, the Land Department substantiated the allegations of illicit expansion works at Dover's residence, giving the licence holder one month to rectify the situation with respect to the illegal structures. Police Commissioner

Chris Tang Chris Tang Ping-keung (; born 4 July 1965) is a Hong Kong law enforcement administrator, currently serving the Secretary for Security of Hong Kong since 25 June 2021. He previously served as the Commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force from ...

has accused ''Apple Dailys investigations on senior officers as being retaliation for the 18 April arrest of the paper's founder

Jimmy Lai Lai Chee-ying ( zh, link=no, t=黎智英, born 8 December 1947), also known as Jimmy Lai, is a Hong Kong busniessman and a politician. He founded Giordano, an Asian clothing retailer, Next Digital (formerly Next Media), a Hong Kong-listed med ...

Personal life

Rupert Dover is married to Cheung Ngar-sze (; also known as Sze Dover), a sergeant in the Hong Kong Police Force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dover, Rupert Living people 1967 births Hong Kong police officers People from Hertford British people in colonial Hong Kong British colonial police officers Police officers from British Hong Kong