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. Almost HK$90 million in fines issued for Hong Kong Covid rule breaches 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. Separately, the force has decided to relax the recruitment by lifting a rule on a seven-year stay in the city. This will, hopefully, have an appeal to Hong Kong permanent residents in mainland China and abroad. According to the force, about 15 per cent of recruitment inquiries received last year were about residency, while 34 people failed the applications as they had not been living in the city for seven years. Recruitment is affected by various factors, such as salaries and the state of the economy. For the 33,000 police force, its public image has become an additional element for consideration. Constable denies disguising himself as protester during siege of police HQ While clashes with protesters during the anti-extradition bill movement in 2019 are already a thing of the past, the perception is still being shaped by enforcement actions in relation to national security and occasional reports of individual officers’ misconduct. Even though the political atmosphere is relatively more stable, rebuilding police image and public trust remains a work in progress. The force is fully aware of the challenges ahead and has redoubled efforts in community reachout and integrity training. Hopefully, the setback in recruitment can be overcome in the longer term.