For discussion
10 June 1999
Legislative Council Panel on Security
Improvements to Police Stations and Operational Facilities
Purpose
This paper informs Members of a plan to upgrade the facilities of Police stations and other operational facilities as part of the Police*s on-going service improvement programme.
Background
2. The Force management has adopted a service quality approach since 1995 with a view to bringing about a change in culture and working attitudes within the Police Force. A Consultancy Support Project was commissioned in October 1997 to examine ways to further improve the quality of services provided to the public. The project initially focused on the delivery of report room services and was later extended to cover crime office, property office and other areas involving direct contact between the Police and the public. Its main objectives are to meet the service needs and expectations of the public and to facilitate every member of the Police Force in providing good quality service to the public.
3. North Point Police Station was chosen as the pilot station to test a number of customer service initiatives including some physical improvement concepts in early 1998 with a view to developing a benchmark of the standard of services to be provided at all Police facilities. The improvements carried out have been very positively received by the local community, with strong support provided by both the Eastern District Fight Crime Committee and the Eastern Provisional District Board.
4. Workshops and focus groups have been held by staff at the North Point Police Station. Constructive feedback and suggestions have been received which indicated strong support for all the improvement measures for providing a better Police Station environment resulting in better service to the public. Officers now enjoy greater job satisfaction and express pride and confidence in providing a better and more caring service to the public.
5. Based on this, a service improvement programme incorporating physical modifications, as well as improvement of service attitude and delivery process has been drawn up. Its main features include -
- setting up a reception area in the report room which would facilitate the handling of public's reports in a more efficient and effective manner. A number tag system will be adopted to enable a more efficient prioritization of report room "customers". The more serious and complicated cases would be given priority. The time required for handling routine cases can be reduced by asking the persons making the reports to fill in the necessary proformas before reaching the reporting counter;
- providing information on Police procedures, leaflets and application forms at the designated public information area with form-filling counter facilities;
- modification of the physical setting of the report room and other areas which are frequently visited by the public to create a more user-friendly environment. For example, partitions are installed at the reporting counter to protect the privacy of the people making reports. Interview rooms are provided to enable initial enquiries to be conducted in private, thus avoiding embarrassment to victims and witnesses. Dedicated interview facilities for the Crime and Miscellaneous Enquiries Office are also provided at the report room so that officers can conduct interviews there instead of taking the victims or the witnesses to their office which are not designed for conducting interviews;
- provision of modern and user friendly facilities, such as touch screen computers and telephones, at the report room for use by the public;
- installation of a close circuit television (CCTV) system to oversee the operation of the report room. This has proven to be useful in protecting the public by providing a record of business conducted in the report room;
- provision of further staff training on customer services to improve the manner and response of officers to meet different "customer" needs. All report room staff are required to attend basic customer service training and to wear personalized name tags;
- streamling the reporting procedures by introducing self-report forms which are specially designed to facilitate the public to report cases, and report by fax; and
- improving the working environment for the staff working in the Police station/operational facility by enhancing the meeting and conference facilities and improving the changing room facilities.
6. To further examine the effectiveness of the service improvement programme, the North Point pilot project was later expanded to the Sau Mau Ping and Sha Tin Stations. The refurbishment works were completed in March 1999. In view of the satisfactory results of the pilot scheme, it is now proposed to extend the service improvement programme to other Police stations/operational facilities so that the public can fully benefit from the changes in culture, processes and service attitude in the Police Force.
7. In conjunction with the proposed physical improvement works in Police stations/operational facilities, it is also planned to install an automated security system to monitor and control the pedestrian and vehicular access in these premises. Such security duties are at present undertaken by Station Guards which are established Police Constable (PC) posts. Pilot schemes to replace Station Guards with automated security systems were conducted at Ngau Tau Kok and Sha Tin Police Stations in 1997 and have subsequently been reviewed. A total of six PC posts were released as a result. The review concluded that the proposal could generate not only staff savings but also strengthen the security of the Police facilities. It is therefore proposed to be implemented Force-wide. To minimize disruption to the public and Police operations, installation works would be conducted as part of the proposed improvement works of the Police stations/operational facilities.
8. We have briefed Members on the concepts of the service improvement programme mentioned above in November 1998. We have now worked out the detailed plan for implementing the programme in other Police premises and intend to seek funding approval from the Public Works Subcommittee in June 1999 for the improvement works.
The Improvement Project
9. The proposed improvement project consists of two parts: upgrading of facilities and installation of automated security systems. It will cover 59 existing Police facilities including 51 Police Stations, four Police Posts and four Marine Bases. A list of these facilities is at Annex A.
10. Upon completion of the project, a uniform standard of facilities will be adopted throughout the Police Force. In addition, the security of Police premises will be enhanced with the installation of the automated security system. This will enable the release of up to 94 Police officers who are currently performing Station Guards duties.
11. The project will be implemented over three years in accordance with the priority set out in the schedule at Annex B, which has been drawn up taking into account the current condition and usage of each facility in question. The detailed design work will start in August 1999 and construction is expected to begin in October 1999. The whole project will be completed by around June 2002. The improvements works to be undertaken include: -
Upgrading of facilities
- a complete remodelling of the report room and entrance that include furnishings, fixtures and fittings. Emphasis will be placed on promoting a more open and user-friendly environment with enhanced quality of service. A barrier-free environment for the disabled will also be incorporated;
- provision of better facilities to the public, e.g. installing touch screen computers in the report room to serve as information providers, and providing telephones for use by the public;
- remodelling the ancillary areas of a Police station/facility that are frequently visited by the public in a fashion similar to the report room. Such areas include the Property Office, the Miscellaneous Enquiries Office, the Police Community Relations Office, and the Crime Enquiries Office;
- enhancing the conference and meeting facilities for the staff, including an improved environment for staff meetings and group discussion and easier access to reference materials through computers; and
- improvements to changing rooms including installation of air conditioning and upgrading of showering/toilet facilities.
Installation of automated security systems
- installing an access control system at all building entrances and exits, and an automated vehicle access/exit control system;
- installing video phones to accommodate visitors' access to Police facilities;
- provision of CCTV coverage of the compound and vehicular access points;
- enhancing the compound lighting; and
- upgrading station/facility perimeter fencing where necessary.
Cost Estimation
12. Based on the experience gained from the pilot schemes, we estimate the capital cost of this project at $649.2 million at MOD prices, which is made up as follows -
| HK$*000 | HK$*000
|
|---|
(a) Building Works
|
(i) for upgrading of facilities | 154,141
| (ii)for security systems| 62,200 | 216,341
| (b) Building Services Work for upgrading
of facilities (electrical and mechanical etc.) | | 165,112
| | (c) Furniture and Equipment (IT/Comms) | | 87,304
| (d) Security Systems (including
building services work) | | 78,700
| | (e) 10% Contingency | | 54,746
| | Sub-total: | | 602, 203
(at Dec. 1998 prices)
| | (f) Inflation allowance | | 47,046
| | Total: | | 649,249 | (in MOD prices)
| | |
The breakdown of the costs in respect of different categories of facilities is at Annex C.
13. The gross floor area (GFA) of the facilities to be refurbished is 77,330 square metres. The average unit cost of refurbishing these facilities, represented by building and building service costs (i.e. items (a)(i) & (b) at para.12), is $4,128 per square metre at December 1998 prices. This includes considerable trunking and conduits, upgrading of power supplies where required, and the provision of temporary report rooms so that the Police stations/facilities concerned can continue to provide a full operational service during the renovation period. As the project is drawn up to meet the unique operational needs of the Police, there are no similar projects that we can make a meaningful comparison. However, we consider the unit cost reasonable given the age of some of the buildings involved and the extent of the building services work required.
14. The total estimated recurrent costs of the project are $20.7 million per year. They will be fully offset by the potential saving of about $20.9 million derived from the release of the 94 Station Guards posts.
Security Bureau
May 1999
[Panel-station.doc]
Annex A
Police Facilities to be Included in the Improvement Project
Police Stations to be Improved
| Hong Kong Island
|
| 1. Central | (9) | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 2. Waterfront | (21) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 3. Western | (1) | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 4. Aberdeen | (33) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 5. Stanley | (47) | (Sub-divisional Station
|
| 6. Happy Valley | (40) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 7. Shau Kei Wan | (37) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 8. Chai Wan | (17) | (Divisional Station)
|
| Kowloon East
|
| 9. Tseung Kwan O | (29) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 10. Wong Tai Sin | (5) | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 11. Tze Wan Shan | (41) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 12. Sai Kung | (11) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 13. Kwun Tong | (13) | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 14. Ngau Tau Kok | (19) | (Divisional Station)
|
| Kowloon West
|
| 15. Mongkok | (2) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 16. Tsim Sha Tsui | (18) | (Yau Tsim District and Tsim Sha Tsui Divisional Station)
|
| 17. Sham Shui Po | (6) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 18. Cheung Sha Wan | (22) | (Sham Shui Po District and Cheung Sha Wan Divisional Station)
|
| 19. Shek Kip Mei | (34) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 20. Ho Man Tin | (10) | (Kowloon City District and Ho Man Tin Divisional Station)
|
| 21. Kowloon City | (30) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 22. Hung Hom | (45) | (Divisional Station)
|
| New Territories North
|
| 23. Tai Po | (20) | (District and Divisional. Station)
|
| 24. Sheung Shui | (7) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 25. Tuen Mun | (3) | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 26. Castle Peak | (46) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 27. Tai Hing | (31) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 28. Yuen Long | (26) | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 29. Tin Shui Wai | (43) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 30. Pat Heung | (14) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 31. Border | (23) | (District Station)
|
| 32. Sha Tau Kok | (44) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 33. Ta Kwu Ling | (52) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 34. Lok Ma Chau | (36) | (Divisional Station)
|
| New Territories South
|
| 35. Ma On Shan | (15) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 36. Tsuen Wan | (24) | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 37. Lei Muk Shue | (42) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 38. Kwai Tsing | (4) | (Kwai Tsing District and Kwai Chung Divisional Station)
|
| 39. Tsing Yi | (35) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 40. Tin Sum | (12) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 41. Siu Lek Yuen | (25) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 42. Lantau North | (28) | (Lantau District and Lantau North Divisional Station)
|
| 43. Lantau South | (38) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 44. Marine Harbour | (51) | (Divisional Station)
|
| 45. Cheung Chau | (8) | (Divisional Station)
|
| Operational Facilities To Be Improved
|
| 46. Marine East | (39) | (Eastern Waters District and East Divisional Base)
|
| 47. Marine North | (32) | (Divisional Base)
|
| 48. Marine South | (27) | (Western Waters District and South Divisional Base)
|
| 49. Marine West | (16) | (Divisional Base)
|
| 50. Lamma Island | (54) | (Police Post)
|
| 51. Man Kam To | (50) | (Border Crossing Post)
|
| 52. Lok Ma Chau | (53) | (Border Crossing Post)
|
| 53. Lo Wu | (48) | (Border Crossing Post)
|
| ( ) the planned implementation schedule at Annex B.
|
| Police Stations for limited improvement
|
| 54. North Point* | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 55. Sau Mau Ping* | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 56. Airport* | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 57. Sha Tin** | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 58. Yau Ma Tei# | (District and Divisional Station)
|
| 59. Wanchai# | (District and Divisional Station)
|
* for installing automated security system only - Pilot Station or recently built Station
** for installing automated security system only - Sha Tin was a pilot station for both the upgrading of facilities and installation of automated security system projects, but its security system needs to be upgraded to the new designs
# limited scope of work as the station is due to be reprovisioned in 2004
Annex B
The Planned Implementation Schedule
| 1. Western | }
|
| 2. Mongkok | }
|
| 3. Tuen Mun | } Oct 1999 - Apr 2000
|
| 4. Kwai Tsing | }
|
|
Annex C
Breakdown of the total cost in respect different categories of Police facilities
| Estimated Cost
(HK$*000)
|
|---|
| A. 51 Police Stations
|
(a) upgrading of facilities*| 378,753
| (b) installation of automated security system| 128,300 | 507,053
| B. 4 Police/Border Crossing Posts
(i.e. items 0-53 at Annex A)
| (a) upgrading of facilities | 6,922
| (b) installation of automated security system| 3,400 | 10,322
| | C. 4 Marine Bases
| (a) upgrading of facilities | 20,882
| | | | | | |
* only 47 Police stations are included as improvement works have already been completed in the three pilot stations, viz, North Point, Sau Mau Ping and Sha Tin Police Stations, and the Airport Station which is newly built will be excluded.
