Judul : Hong Kong police must be more transparent, but not when it harms probes: top cop
link : Hong Kong police must be more transparent, but not when it harms probes: top cop
Hong Kong police must be more transparent, but not when it harms probes: top cop
Public's higher expectations of transparency mean force must help residents understand its work, police chief Joe Chow saysThe public has increasingly higher expectations of transparency for Hong Kong police, the force's chief has said, outlining his plan to keep residents informed without compromising investigations.
Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming told the Post in an exclusive interview that one of the challenges facing the force was the higher expectations brought about by the rise of social media, which fuelled the demand for people to know more about police work.
"We have to be more transparent to let the public know, to understand our work. So at least after they understand our work, they will assist us," Chow said.
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The top cop spoke on Friday after making community policing one of his four strategic directions upon taking office in April, alongside another goal to strengthen integrity, professionalism and values within the force.
Community policing involves officers working closely with other stakeholders in the city.
Chow said the force needed to further inform residents about its work to assure them that Hong Kong was still one of the safest and most stable cities in the world.
But the police chief also gave a caveat that the disclosure of information on an ongoing criminal investigation must be balanced against the progress of the probe, saying that a case may not be what it seemed on the surface.
"In fact, we are still working on it behind the scenes, and there are still lines of inquiry that we have to be very careful about, because otherwise maybe we can jeopardise the investigation and we may lose some valuable evidence," Chow said.
Besides assuaging public concern over criminal investigations, Chow also emphasised his lack of tolerance for officer misconduct.
Calling arrests of members of the force "heartbreaking and unacceptable", he told the Post that officers would discuss the importance of integrity during their foundational and in-service training.
The top cop also said the force had a team responsible for launching investigations to weed out problematic officers.
"There are quite a number of cases that are a result of the proactive investigation or interference to detect the cases," Chow said. "That's why I assure that we take a zero tolerance approach if there is any misbehaviour, and we will continue on this aspect."
Police data shows that 22 officers have been arrested for suspected involvement in criminal offences this year up to the end of June. Over the past five years, the annual average number of officers arrested was 39.
Chow reiterated that transparency was how he could fix damage to the force's image from bad apples, saying police would inform the public about officers' wrongdoing.
"We will inform [the public], we will do it in a very fair manner. We will inform the public transparently, and then let them know our actions," Chow said.
Internally, the head of the 27,000-strong team has introduced the idea of "One Force" to unite officers.
"Teamwork is one of the core values that we have. It inspired me a lot throughout my career and I think it's about time to remind our officers," said Chow, who has served on the force for nearly three decades.
According to data provided to the Legislative Council, the force recorded 247 resignations in the 2024-25 financial year up to the end of February, an increase from 234 and 225 in the 2023-24 and 2022-23 financial years, respectively.
Chow said the number of resignations fluctuated and the recent figures were "not alarming".
He said the force would retain officers through measures such as providing good career development opportunities, adding that there was a wide range of diversity among various job rotations.
The top cop said he had worked hard to send officers overseas and mainland China for training opportunities.
But he said police in different countries faced common problems, with little difference between the expertise learned overseas or on the mainland.
"You just can't differentiate [that] the mainland and overseas are different. Actually, policing is policing," Chow said.
Assuming leadership after the force's relations with the public were challenged by the anti-government protests in 2019 and amid the rise of scams in recent years, Chow said he believed that the current relationship was positive.
"There's [been] ups and downs, but at least in the past few years, you will see that we have tried our very best to keep the city safe," Chow said.
He added that he believed residents would understand the force's work through their enjoyment of Hong Kong as a safe city where they did not have to worry about having their phones snatched or being robbed.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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