Opinion | Hong Kong’s law enforcement agencies need rules to foster trust
Bryane Michael says one way is to get private and public officials involved in the governance of bodies like the police and the ICAC, as in other democracies
Trust in our law enforcement bodies has reached a nadir.
Numerous academic polls about our trust in the police typically say that about 35 per cent of us do not trust the police. Another poll said that about 45 per cent of respondents did not trust the Independent Police Complaints Council. The Independent Commission Against Corruption came in last in a recent University of Hong Kong poll of public satisfaction in government services.
How can we trust institutions cloaked in secrecy and sheltered from direct public control? When were you last asked about your opinions on police policy? Or if the ICAC should release some information which they shared with you on a confidential basis? Stop laughing.
We do not trust our law enforcement bodies because our laws governing them have not kept up with changes in society. In the post-war period, hierarchy and control across the public sector produced wonderful results. Yet, as stated by the report “Policing in Hong Kong Report Series Governance and Accountability”, “the governance of the force starts with the commissioner and the Senior Directorate Group (SDG) comprising the deputy commissioners and the programme directors at the rank of senior assistant commissioners”. That’s the problem.
In most advanced countries, public sector lawyers in police and other government bodies changed their regulations to reflect the “new governance” fad of the 1980s.
Administrative law in the US and the EU has slowly chipped away the old accountabilities – where the head of government directs the minister in charge of security and so forth. “New governance” put service users – you and me – at the head of the services. Committees involving us set policy. Administrative law allowed officials at all levels to listen and adopt changes we recommended.