Force of nurture

Ask Tang King-shing about morale in the Hong Kong Police and the response is a flashing grin. 'See my smile? ... Morale is pretty good,' says the commissioner of police.

The statistics back him up. The Hong Kong Police has an official establishment strength of 27,524. This week, they are 100 short of the benchmark. But at a recruitment fair held recently at Arsenal Yard, more than 1,100 potential recruits signed up for preliminary interviews.

Part of the enthusiasm for joining the force may be recent pay rises, the first for police after a decade of cuts in salaries and trimming of benefits. But that doesn't tell the whole story: young men and women see a job in the force as a challenging, worthwhile, exciting and, yes, well-paid career.

This enthusiasm is not confined to new recruits waiting to march into Police College at Wong Chuk Hang. More than 31 years after he joined the Royal Hong Kong Police, Mr Tang gets out of bed at 5am; he can't wait to get to work. While morale may be high, he is not taking things for granted. It's his job to ensure the present state of contentment and commitment stays at that level, he says.

Indeed, that applies to several aspects of his job. Corruption is down, but it's going to require constant vigilance to make sure it stays that way. Crime rates are satisfactory. Only hard work by police officers on the streets will keep it in check.

Hong Kong has never had a serious terrorist threat. Mr Tang, who spent more than six years in the secretive anti-terrorist squad, the Special Duties Unit, is determined that ceaseless training and planning to protect potential targets is going to frustrate any plot.

Surveys show 83 per cent of the public support the police. What about the other 17 per cent? Mr Tang asks. Why aren't they in favour?