A PROPOSAL to appoint outside investigators to handle complaints against the police has been rejected by the Government.
The Independent Police Complaints Council proposed in 1993 to appoint non-police officers to the Complaints Against the Police Office.
Legislators have also called for the setting up of an independent body to handle such complaints.
However, the Secretary for Security, Peter Lai Hing-ling, yesterday said it would be difficult to recruit outside investigators with the necessary expertise and knowledge of police procedures.
'This is because most of the complaints involve allegations of breaches of the law or police discipline or procedures,' he said.
'Without this knowledge, they do not have the professional skills to make a fair judgment as to whether the action of the police officer under investigation is justified in the circumstances of the case.' Democratic Party legislator Zachary Wong Wai-yin asked whether the difficulty was insurmountable.
Mr Lai said it was questionable to what extent public confidence and the transparency in the investigations would be enhanced since the non-police investigators, if appointed, would be under police command.
