Editorial | Recruitment an immediate concern for Hong Kong’s police force
- For two years in a row, the force has been unable to meet its recruitment targets. This is hardly good news for law and order
That Hong Kong is suffering a brain drain amid stringent Covid-19 rules and changing political environment is a fact to be reckoned with. Officials have also recognised the problem, though it probably can only be addressed in the longer term when the city strives to rebuild itself after the epidemic.
A more immediate concern are the difficulties in police recruitment. For two years in a row, the force has been unable to meet the recruitment targets.
Despite more than 10,000 applications, it only appointed 170 inspectors and 484 constables between April last year and March this year, representing only 87 per cent and 36 per cent of the targets for the two ranks respectively.
The figures in 2020-21 were 70 per cent and 37 per cent. As of December 31, 2021, there were 5,706 vacancies. This is hardly good news for law and order.
Like other departments, it is important that the police can continue to recruit officers with calibre. To deal with the ongoing manpower crunch, officers due to retire at age 55 have been given the option to continue working until they reach 60.