lawrence ka-ki ho

The Hong Kong Island was ceded to the British Empire and made a colony in 1842. Although a small police force composed of European, Indian, and Chinese personnel was set up shortly after the British assumed the governance of Hong Kong, the official Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) did not come into being until 1844. The Force has come a long way from being “a paramilitary force in the service of its colonial ruler”. Wave after wave of formation, specialization, rebuilding, challenges, and reform throughout the years have propelled a change of the HKPF into a professional urban police force whose essence lies in the service of the citizens of Hong Kong.
With more than 200 selected photographs, some not even published, the book guides readers on a journey of police development in Hong Kong, illustrating the changes throughout the hundred-odd years in a straightforward manner, and pointing out the details in training, service, buildings, and protocol along the way which gradually add up over the century to make the Force what it is today.

Lawrence Ho
Dr. Ho received his M. Phil. in politics and Ph. D. in Sociology (Criminology) at the University of Hong Kong. He is a lecturer in the Department of Social Science at the Hong Kong Institute of Education and an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong. He specializes in studies on public policy, criminal justice, policing and public order management.

Y. K. Chu
Dr. Chu received his Ph. D. in Police Studies at the University of Exeter. He is an Honorary Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and a Fellow of the Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong. He is one of the founding members of the Asian Association of Police Studies and the Hong Kong Juvenile Delinquency Research Society. He specialized in studies on organized crime and police.

Henry Ho
Mr. Ho joined the Royal Hong Kong Police Force in 1976, and was promoted to Superintendent in 2009. He retired from the Hong Kong Police Force in 2015 after 38 years of service. He is the chairman of the Hong Kong Police Old Comrades’ Association, an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong, a Permanent Honorary Consultant of the Hong Kong Police Philatelic Club and the Hong Kong Police Horticulture Club.

【Chapter One】The Force
1 A Multi-ethnic Force
2 Aboard the Sampan
3 Japanese Occupation
4 Postwar Expatriate Commissioners
5 ‘Foreign Superiors, Chinese Subordinates’

【Chapter Two】The Training
6 Recruits
7 Marine Police
8 Riot Control
9 Police Dog

【Chapter Three】Duty and Mission
10 Charge Room: Police Stations
11 Warrants
12 Street Beat Patrols
13 Female Police
14 Outlying Islands Policing
15 “Snakeheads”: Illegal Immigration from Mainland China
16 “Boat People”: Vietnamese Refugees
17 Cross-border Crime
18 Triad Experts

【Chapter Four】Protocol, Ceremony and Fraternity
19 Royal Visits and Governors’ Meeting the Public
20 Police Review: Parades and Presentation Ceremonies
21 Passing Out Parades and Guard of Honour
22 Pai Kwan Tei (Worshipping the Military God)
23 Mess Night
24 Curry Culture
25 Fraternity (Police Welfare Activities)

【Chapter Five】Uniforms, Accoutrements and Buildings
26 Uniforms
27 Plainclothes Equipment
28 The Rig (Motorcycle Sidecar), the Jeep and the Pig Lorry
29 Police Boats and Launches
30 Police Posts and Quarters

Notes
Epilogue
Acknowledgement