History of Hong Kong Police
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The history of the Hong Kong Police originates in 1841, when the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) was officially established by the British colonial government, the same year that the British had settled in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. While changes have been implemented throughout the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(PRC) since the transfer of
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
in 1997, the Hong Kong Police Force (formerly the Royal Hong Kong Police Force) has since been responsible for serving the city.


19th century

On 30 April 1841, twelve weeks after the British had landed in Hong Kong, orders were given by Captain Charles Elliot to establish a police force in the new colony. The first chief of police was Captain William Caine, who also served as the Captain of the Chief
Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
. The Hong Kong Police was officially established by the colonial government on 1 May 1844, and the duties of the magistrate and head of police were separated. At the time of its establishment, the police force consisted of thirty-two men. The
ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
composition of the inaugural force consisted of mixed Chinese, European nationals or Indians. Policemen from different ethnic groups were assigned a different alphabetical letter before their batch numbers: "A" for Europeans, "B" for Indians, "C" for local Chinese who spoke
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
, and "D" for Chinese recruited from
Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...
. "E" was later assigned to White Russians who arrived from
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
after the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
. For several decades, Hong Kong was a 'rough-and-tumble' port with a 'wild west' attitude to law and order. Consequently, many members of the force were equally rough individuals. As Hong Kong began to flourish and make its place in the world, Britain began to take a dim view of the government's lack of grip in both public and private sectors, and officials with strong values and Victorian concepts of management and discipline were sent to raise standards. Strong leadership, both of Hong Kong and of the force, began to pay dividends towards the latter part of the 19th century, and business prospered accordingly. Piracy on the seas was a constant challenge for the Water Police. Responsibility for the city's prisons passed out of the control of the police in 1879. The 1890s brought challenges, both operational and organisational - there were outbreaks of
bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
in 1893–94; whilst the annexation of the
New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
(an additional 356sq.miles of land) in 1898–99, created difficult, but surmountable problems.


20th century


Early 20th century

The fall of the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
in 1911 brought civil unrest, and the start of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1914 saw many European officers enlist and return to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. In the 1920s and 1930s, Hong Kong's general peace was punctuated by bouts of civil unrest sparked by labour disputes, instability in China and Japanese militarism. When war came again in 1941, an unknown number of police officers and reserves - Chinese, Indian, European and Eurasian - had their lives taken by the Japanese during both the main conflict and the
occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...
.


World War II

From 1942 to 1945, Japan occupied Hong Kong and the HKPF was temporarily disbanded and replaced by Japanese Kempeitai,Carroll, John Mark.
007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
(2007). A concise history of Hong Kong. , . p 123-125, p 129.
which was headquartered at the
Legislative Council Building A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...
. After the war, the mechanism of government in Hong Kong was in shambles; no men or equipment, devastated buildings and important resources like intelligence files, fingerprints, criminal records and personnel documents all lost or destroyed. The Water Police had four barely serviceable launches. Nevertheless, the situation presented an opportunity to "start from scratch" and after the 'British Military Administration', during which
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
C.H. Sansom headed the force, Hong Kong was in a position to stand on its own feet again in May 1946. When Japan
invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
Hong Kong on 8 December 1941, the Commissioner of Police was John Pennefather-Evans, and through his wartime internment, he worked secretly to draft a conceptual plan for the reorganisation of the force, presenting his plan in July 1946. Although he was not to head the force after the war, his plans were both sound and progressive. Governor Sir Mark Young broadly supported them, and they were implemented under Commissioner Duncan Macintosh thereby generating the foundation of today's structure and philosophy. The proposals included equality in recruitment and promotion for local officers and the cessation of recruitment of European
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
s. Moreover, doubts about the willingness of the Hong Kong people to accept Indian officers who had worked, and often abused their authority under the Japanese administration (December 1941 until August 1945) forced authorities to wind down the Sikh contingent. Instead,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
i and
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
Chinese were recruited as constables, and this went on until the early 1960s. The last European inspectorate officers joined in 1994. The first female inspector joined in 1949, followed by the first intake of Woman Police Constables in 1951 - currently about 14 percent of the force is female, being represented in all ranks between constable and assistant commissioner.


Second half of the century

In 1945, firefighting responsibilities passed to a separate fire brigade. The 1950s saw the start of Hong Kong's forty-year rise to global eminence. Throughout this period, the Hong Kong Police had successfully tackled many issues that had challenged the city's stability. Between 1949 and 1989, for example, Hong Kong experienced several huge waves of immigration from mainland China, most notably the period from 1958 to 1962. The most serious challenge to the force has been civil disorder. In 1956, supporters of the China Nationalist movement defied government regulations providing the pretext for the eruption of conflict with pro-
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
activists and sympathisers - serious disorder was suppressed by the force with assistance from the
British military The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...
. In 1966, Communist groups fanned the flames of discontent:
Riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...
s broke out over a price rise on the
Star Ferry The Star Ferry is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Com ...
. Following this, in the spring of 1967, at the time of the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
workers instigated long and bloody riots. The Hong Kong Police lost ten men during the turmoil which saw a ten-month campaign of insurrection, bombing and murder. For its determined and successful efforts in suppressing this lengthy insurrection, the Hong Kong Police were granted the "Royal" prefix in 1969. Princess Alexandra was appointed by Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
to become the Commandant General of the Royal Hong Kong Police. In 1961, the responsibility for
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
, customs, and excise duties passed out of the duties of the Hong Kong Police Force. Corruption emerged as a prominent issue in Hong Kong in the 1960s; the Hong Kong Police—as did almost every government department—experienced this and it peaked between 1962 and 1974, involving officers of all ranks and ethnicities. Motives and opportunities for corruption were many and varied, but mainly included poor pay and worries about China invading and abolishing pensions, while opportunities resulted from the vibrant growth in economic progress and its industrious, self-starting people were forming thousands of small street-level businesses all ripe for "protection." During this time, the police, along with members of departments like Public Works, Fire, Transport and others, all had their own distinct methods of earning illicit income to boost their meagre wages. Members of the police were offenders with the highest profile and took most opprobrium. It took the determined stance of Governor MacLehose, together with Commissioner Charles Payne Sutcliffe, to instigate the firmest of measures to eradicate syndicated corruption—and the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 1974 was the prime one. After teething troubles, including a mass walkout by officers in 1977, by the early '80s a combination of the ICAC, firm police management, better emoluments and an amnesty had succeeded in destroying the overall culture, removing powerful figures, educating against greed and increasing instances of accountability. In the 1970s and 1980s, large numbers of
Vietnamese people The Vietnamese people ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Dongxing, Guangxi, Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi ...
arrived in Hong Kong, putting considerable strain on police resources first for the marine police who intercepted them, then for the officers who processed them and manned the dozens of camps in the territory, and lastly for those who had to repatriate unsuccessful asylum applicants up until 1997. On 1 July 1997, when China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong, the "Royal" prefix was removed from the force's title, changing it to "Hong Kong Police Force". The
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was also changed, replacing the royal crown with a bauhinia emblem.


21st century

In April 2012, the Hong Kong Police Force publicly confirmed a ten-year
contractual agreement A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
with the 3M Cogent company to develop the biometric arm of the organization. Live scan technology and biometric identification products feature in the arrangement, and will be utilized in 32 city police force branches and three immigration locations. In the 2010s, the police force played a prominent role in handling 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 ...
and 2019–20 Hong Kong protests. The Hong Kong Police Force has faced allegations of misconduct, including the use of excessive force, in both the 2014 protests and the 2019 protests, leading to several lawsuits filed in October 2019 against the HKPF for allegations of misconduct. A range of controversies involving the police left the force's popularity plunging after 2014, but even more so after 2019. 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 honour, duty and loyalty." ''
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'' suggested that this change would curry favour with the
central government of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...
. With the passage of the Hong Kong national security law in mid-2020, the force established a
National Security Department National Security Department is a department of the Hong Kong Police Force established on 1 July 2020 under Hong Kong national security law (NSL) to "safeguard" the national security of China. Responsible for arresting pro-democracy politicians ...
, charged with investigating and arresting offenders for NSL violations. Edwina Lau, Deputy Commissioner of Police (National Security), is tasked to head the unit. The department's number 2, Frederic Choi, was caught by colleagues during an anti-vice raid on an unlicensed massage parlour in April 2021. The police later cleared him of "wrongdoing" but he remains on leave. In November 2020, the Hong Kong Police Force launched a hotline where residents can report breaches of the national security law that China imposed earlier in the year. In July 2022, during the flag raising ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the handover, the Hong Kong Police Force and all Hong Kong Disciplined Services, are phasing out forever their regular Footdrills, English verbal command and parade, inherited from their colonial past, in favor of the « Goose step » of the People Liberation Army of the PRC. Officials says that, it was a way to « Show patriotism to the motherland ». For months, Cadets and Officers practice at Fanling Police College under the supervision of Chinese soldiers of the PLC stationed in Hong Kong. It was also noticed that all the bagpipes from the Hong Kong Police Band did not take part in any ongoing ceremony. In August 2022, the Public Relations Wing announced that it would monitor public opinion online and fight "fake news".


Evolution of uniforms

The headgear worn during the 19th century varied according to ethnicity: European officers wore
pith helmet The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi) is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish Empire, Spanish military adaptation of the na ...
s,
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
Indians wore
turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...
s, and Chinese officers wore
conical Asian hat A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines co ...
s. All of them, however, shared the same olive green
tunic A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...
s in winter - giving rise to the nickname, ''dai tau luk yee'' (big head, green coat). By 1900 dark blue had become standard, although the style and headdress still varied according to the race of the police officer. The conical hat of Chinese personnel disappeared after the 1920s, and similar khaki drill (summer) and navy blue uniforms (winter) were worn by all personnel. Both Chinese and European officers wore the same black peaked caps with silver badges. The Sikhs however continued to be distinguished by red turbans. White tunics were worn by police bandsmen and senior officers for ceremonial occasions. While cap badges and other insignia changed with the ending of British rule, the basic khaki drill and navy blue uniforms of the colonial period remained in use. Up until about 2020, when a year-round blue uniform was adopted, the Hong Kong Police continued to wear two seasonal uniforms - a khaki drill summer uniform (tan for women officers) and a navy blue uniform for winter, with constables and sergeants wearing blue shirts and more senior staff wearing white ones.


See also

*
Historic police station buildings in Hong Kong Several police buildings in Hong Kong are listed as historic monuments. While some of them are still serving their initial purpose, most of them have been decommissioned and have been redeveloped or are awaiting redevelopment. Historic police stati ...
* Kam C. Wong, Policing in Hong Kong (Ashgate, 2012) * Kam C. Wong. Policing in Hong Kong: History and Reform (CRC: Taylor and Francis, 2015)


References

{{Reflist


External links


Police History
- Hong Kong Police Force
Police Force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...