Policing the police
The Government has been dragging its feet for years over Law Reform Commission proposals to curtail police powers.
Just before the handover, it announced a target date of June this year for introducing guidelines on such issues as when police can stop and search suspects, and for how long people can be detained without charge. Yesterday's announcement by Secretary for Security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee that the administration is too busy to draft the necessary legislation is merely one more obstacle along the way.
The controversial report recommended that Hong Kong should introduce laws similar to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 which is law in Britain. But this did not please either side of the debate when it was introduced in 1992.
Human rights groups were disappointed because the local version did not offer genuine protection to suspects. And the police felt it would tie their hands in maintaining law and order in the special circumstances of Hong Kong.
But the Executive Council gave its blessing to a document which struck a fair balance between the rights of individuals and the public interest in law and order. It is now time for these proposals to be entered on to the statute books.
There is much genuine concern about the potential abuse of police powers, and a widespread belief that officers can get away with misconduct because the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) is not so much a process for rigorous internal investigation as an exercise in closing ranks.
That suspicion does the police force no favours. Every organisation can find itself with one or two bad actors occasionally, but unless the public sees the law enforcement bodies clearing out offenders from their ranks, it cannot be expected to have full confidence in the integrity of the force. CAPO has too little credibility in the eyes of the public. Despite its other business, the Government should push forward the stalled legislation on police powers.