Police will introduce a questionnaire system to assess the risk of family violence in an attempt to help troubled families.
The Emergency Referral Questionnaire aims to reveal early danger signals and ensure investigations are standardised. A paper produced by the force will be discussed by legislators next week.
'The questionnaire has adopted the concept of risk assessment that is universally employed in the policing of domestic violence,' the paper says.
It will enable officers to reveal 'existing high-risk factors within troubled families' by assessing threat-assessment questions like 'recent assault history, severity of injuries, use of weapons'.
Based on the answers, police would then decide what action to take, such as finding a refuge for victims.
It will be one of the measures to be introduced this year following the recommendation of the Coroner's Court and an independent inquiry into the Tin Shui Wai tragedy. In April 2004, a woman and her two daughters were killed by her husband less than two days after seeking police protection.
Training on attitudes and skills relating to such cases will be provided from July.