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The Police Public Relations Branch (Chinese: 警察公共關係科)) is under the Hong Kong Police Force Support Formation, Operations A Department. The Branch is responsible for promoting the professional, progressive and credible image of the Hong Kong Police Force. The Branch aimed to earn the confidence on behalf of the Hong Kong Police Force in its effort to maintain Hong Kong as one of the safest city in the world. The Branch provide information of the Hong Kong Police Force to the public through different medias. It also strikes to motivate the public to cooperate with the Hong Kong Police Force in eliminating and preventing crime.

Historical Development
Police Public Relations Bureau (PPRB) was established in 1967. The setup of PPRB could be traced from the change of community policing for Hong Kong Royal Police (Predecessor of current Hong Kong Police Force) in 19690s, as there were disputes between police and public between 1960 and 1970. One of the major reasons researched was the strict approach adopted by police towards the public. To solve this issue, the predecessor of PPRB, Police Public Information Bureau, were set up, as a strategy of community-policing. Then, it was renamed to Police Public Relations Bureau, but the functions and aims were the same, in 1970s, and recently, the name of Police Public Relations Branch is often officially used by the Hong Kong Police Force.

Campaigns and Activities
Some major events could help highlight the responsibilities and functions performed by PPRB, that it provides various channels for interactions between community and police.

Junior Police Call Scheme
The scheme was launched in 1974, by Andrew Rennie. It was aimed to invite young people to get closer with Hong Kong Police Force, and the initial key aim is to reduce the number of potential young criminals through taking part in some meaningful activities. Later, as it turned out to be extremely popular, it shifts to a program to provide leadership training skills and deeper knowledge for the participants. Various opportunities of kinds of activities were provided for the participated youngsters, like radio shows, magazines and uniform groups, so as to help promotes different jobs and campaigns from the police force directly to those participants, and indirectly to the public.

For more details: please refer to Junior Police Call Scheme / 少年警訊

Official Website of Hong Kong Police Force
The website provides online accessibility for different information of Hong Kong Police Force, so as to reinforce the understanding of the public towards Hong Kong Police Force. Informations like, statistics about crimes, suggestions for personal safety, human resources notice and the contact of different branches of police force.

The whole website was renewed in 2010 by PPRB, with a cleaner and more convenient layout. Moreover, new system of “one-click” is adopted, so as to provide quicker access.

For more details: please refer to Hong Kong Police Force

Police Report/ Police Magazine
It is a TV programme produced by PPRB and Radio & Television Hong Kong (RTHK), starting from 1973. It provides a channel for general public to understand more about crime trend and prevention tips, mainly through short dramas and interviews. Also, it aims to educate people and promotes the cooperation between citizens and Police Force. It has been aired in different TV channels, like TVB Jade, ATV, ViuTV and RTHK 31.

For more details, please refer to Police Magazine.

Police School Liaison Programme
The programme was introduced first in 1974. It mainly aims to reduce youngster’s inclination to join gang initially as PPRB believed that school is the best channel to reach students. Nowadays, the number of post of School Liaison Officers, who are appointed to support this program, is increased to 117 in total.

Now, through the development, the objectives of this scheme have been expanded to the followings:


 * To establish a good relationship between the police and the school community - children, teachers and parents;


 * On the basis of this relationship, to give school children an understanding of the role of the police and a respect for law and order;


 * To make school children aware of various dangers which they may encounter, such as the dangers of involvement in crime, drug abuse, triad association, hooliganism, sexual temptations and abuse and road traffic etc.;


 * To alert school children and school authorities to the need for crime prevention in all its aspects;


 * To instil a sense of discipline and positive values in school children at risk through group or individual discussions with them;


 * To refer suitable cases to the relevant multi-agency programme for follow-up action, in consultation with the social workers, school management and parents; and


 * To act as the focal point of contact on behalf of the Police Community Relations Officer between local Police and the District Social Welfare Office as well as the school management.

For more details, please refer to Police School Liaison Programme.

Police Review
Police Review is a yearly report published by PPRB, that includes:


 * Memorable Events
 * Operations
 * Regional Commanders’ Report
 * Personnel and Training
 * Management Services
 * Finance, Administration and Planning
 * Environmental Report
 * Organisation

Changes and Updates in that particular would be all summarised in this report, and it would be online accessible.

For more details, please refer to Police Review 2016.

Good Citizen Award Scheme
Good Citizen Award Scheme was introduced in 1973 to show recognition for citizens who contributed a lot in fighting of crime. Monetary awards who be given to individuals that are recommend by Hong Kong Police Force that provide positive assistance. In 1984, a new award, “Best Good Citizens” was added on top of the award. It is to encourage the members of public to be more active to report crime and show their attitude and preparation to become a witness.

Criteria as provided by PPRB: Good Citizen Award (GCA) As a general rule, to qualify for a GCA the following criteria must be met: The nominee, who may either be a witness or a victim, must have acted positively to assist the Police or other member(s)of the public in preventing or detecting a crime or in apprehending the culprit(s); and the degree of assistance rendered must have been material and of substantial value.

Good Citizen of the Year Award (GCYA) The criteria for a GCYA will basically be the same as for a GCA but the nominee must have acted with: Exceptional bravery or courage; great resourcefulness; or outstanding initiative

For more details, please refer to Good Citizen Award Scheme.

Organisation and Structure
The Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB) is commanded by the Chief Superintendent Police (CSP PPRB), who is indirectly responsible to the Commissioner of Police, through the Deputy of Commissioner of Police (Operations) and the Director of Operations.

Under the command of the CSP PPRB, a Senior Superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch (SSP PPRB) and a Chief Information and Publicity Officer (CIPO) of the Information and Publicity Bureau are responsible for assisting the CSP PPRB with the daily operation of the Branch.

Bureaux of the Police Public Relations Branch

 * Community Relations Bureau (CRB): Commanded by the Superintendent Police


 * Information and Publicity Bureau (IPB): Commanded by the Chief Information and Publicity


 * Media Liaison and Communication Bureau (MLCB): Led by a Superintendent of Police.

The CRB and the MLCB are composed of Police officers, while the IPB is formed by the Information Officers seconded from the Information Services Department of the Hong Kong Government.

Community Relations Bureau is mainly responsible for enhancing and maintaining the relations between the Police Force and the public by community involvement and usage of media, promoting information related to crime prevention, and organizing the functions of Junior Police Calls.

Divisions of the Community Relations Bureau

 * Support Section headed by a Chief Inspector


 * JPC & Youth Liaison Section headed by a Chief Inspector


 * Television and Films Liaison Section headed by A Chief Inspector

The Information and Publicity Bureau is mainly responsible for providing information on the aims, policies, and activities of the Police Force to the public with the use of mass media. The Bureau is also meant to be aware of the public opinions regarding the Police Force. Furthermore, the Bureau will hold publicity campaigns of the Police Force, and produce its various publications.

Divisions of the Information and Publicity Bureau

 * Publicity and Publication Division led by a Principal Information Officer


 * Publicity and Campaigns Section led by a Senior Information Officer


 * Media Division led by a Principal Information Officer


 * Newsroom responsible for four Senior Information Officer


 * Editorial and Research Section led by a Principal Information Officer


 * Offbeat Section led by a Senior Information Officer

The Media Liaison and Communication Division (MLCD) is mainly responsible for managing the media relations of the Police Force on different social media platforms, including Hong Kong Police Facebook, Hong Kong Police YouTube and the Police Mobile Application. The Division is composed of 18 Police officers, and 3 of them are responsible for the management of the Hong Kong Police Facebook.

Functions & Responsibilities
The Police Public Relations Bureau serves as a bridge between the Hong Kong Police Department and the public. For assisting the HKP to achieve confidence and authority in maintaining security in the city, to demonstrate the HKP’s image as the sentinel in guaranteeing Hong Kong as one of the safest cities in the world is the bureau’s prime objective. Therefore, the PPRB attempts to facilitate a permanent constructive relationship with various opinion leaders across all sectors in the society, especially the media.

Besides the duties to create a positive, fair image of the HKP and maintain a working relationship with the media, the responsibilities of the PPRB are categorised into the following: Coordination of all aspects of relations development work of the Police Community; providing objective information to the public through different channels, for instance the press, television and radio broadcast, about the aims, policies and activities of the HKP; informing the HKP of public opinion; assisting in organising and implementation of HKP campaigns and publicising the Police recruitment schemes and other HKP events.

Hong Kong Police Public Relations Strategy
For acquiring public understanding and recognition of the HKP, the HKP PR strategy is an evolving process that involves the coordination of departmental efforts in public relations to enhance its effectiveness in handling criticism. The refinement of such strategy relies on the accumulation of skills and knowledge in countering public relation matters, and progressed practices to reinforce the HKP’s perceptions are hoped to be developed.

Five Key Goals to Direct the Strategy:

 * Projection of a Positive HKP Image


 * Promotion of Knowledge and Mutual Understanding


 * Construction of Long-term Relations with the Media


 * Encouragement of Officials’ Participation in Facilitating Better Public Relations


 * Enhancement of Effectiveness in Countering Criticism Against the HKP

Projection of a Positive HKP Image
For securing public recognition, it is essential for the PPRB to assist the HKP to be perceived as a contemporary, professional, evolving and caring organisation. The bureau has been conducting regular publicity campaigns to enable interaction with citizens. For example, the Junior Police Call under the Publicity and Campaigns Section has been organising publicity workshops and forums in primary and secondary schools, for strengthening students’ knowledge in the Police and awareness in maintaining social order.

Capturing, packaging and broadcasting stories of Police achievements, preparing news materials and encouraging publishers to produce teaching materials involving the outstanding performance of the HKP targeted to the younger generation has also been a focus of the PPRB in terms of shaping an appealing HKP persona. Monthly Newsletters have also been published by the Junior Police Call, for instance, to update citizens of current Police performance.

Promotion of Knowledge and Mutual Understanding
HKP’s operations would inevitably attract the attention and scrutiny from various local and foreign interest groups, as they are highly associated with public interests. To allow effective communication and comprehensive understanding of the actions, and a quicker respond to the groups’ demands, the bureau adopts a strategic relations building programme with key stakeholders. This programme includes the arrangement of training for Police Community Relations Officer by the PPRB’s support section under the Community Relations Bureau division to enforce the liaison with community members, including Po Leung Kok, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Yan Chai Hospital and Yan Oi Tong. Various local organisations have also been important actors to maintain contact with, for instance the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides associations, Yin Ngai Societies, Quasi-governmental organisations such as Auxiliary Medical Services, St. John Ambulance, and other locally-based organisations such as the Kaifong Associations and the District Arts and Sports associations. Moreover, it is equally important for bureau to review police television programmes and utilise them for promoting knowledge and understanding of Police duties, so to better familiarise citizens with the everyday functioning of the Force.

Construction of Long-term Relations with the Media
News media may be the dominant channel for citizens to receive information concerning Police performance aside from personal experiences. In addition, due to their natural association with social order and public interests, apparently it is an obligation for the media to report HKP’s operations. For cultivating and sustaining close relationship and mutual understanding with the society, the media is obviously crucial actors for the strategy to lobby. The bureau, particularly the Media division under the Information of Publicity bureau, launches periodic conferences with media personnel for establishing intimate bonds. Media briefings on Force objectives and operations, together with inspecting the equipment and procedures of PPRB Newsroom, are measures for the bureau to enhance its capability in fulfilling concerns and enquiries from the media, thus anticipating to shape a stronger relationship.

Moreover, for safeguarding the production of efficient and authoritative announcements on major issues, the Editorial and Research Section supervises all press releases on police operations and crime files, and remains watchful for newspaper reports for checking if accurate information has been delivered, so to circulate them among departments as advice or guidance to the Force based on public opinion. Radio phone-in programmes and letters to editors are also matters that the division will offer official responses to, for answering inquiries raised and discussed by citizens.

Cooperation between the HKP and the media can also be reflected in television programme production. Police Report (警訊) is a semi-entertainment, informative television programme jointly produced by the HKP and local television broadcasters since 1973. Dramas are included to reproduce crime scenes to remind citizens the importance of vigilance. This platform has also been utilised for calling joint effort in locating missing persons, which can demonstrate a certain degree of Police-Citizen cooperation. Through the above means a close and strong relationship is to be constructed and maintained between the HKP and the media, so to reduce the gap between the Force and citizens via the wide and open media.

Encouragement of Officials’ Participation in Facilitating Public Relations
Unity of officers in understanding and upholding key policy goals is required for realising the public relations strategy that aims at establishing effective communication and interaction with the media and public. To ensure successful coordination and information sharing among the Force, the bureau continuously reviews the communication guidelines with the media and distributes roles and responsibilities to guarantee comprehensive contribution from all officers, as well as the enhancement of personnel’s awareness on their duties in public relations.

For demonstrating the unity of the HKP, through implementing a system that informs officers the official stance of the Force on major issues, the bureau encourages officers to seek advice and guidance prior to making public statements. In addition, the Editorial and Research Section prepares briefs on specific topics for senior police officers to ensure their understanding of major issues. Last but not least, the training of personnel interpersonal techniques has also been stressed by the strategy as outstanding public relations effort requires skilful, political handling of interpersonal interactions.

Enhancement of Effectiveness in Countering Criticism
A plan is currently undergoing development, which proposes strictly defined roles and responsibilities of departments and personnel to prevent public relations difficulties, and manage them if necessary. Advancing the ability in treating public relations problems, which allows crises to be turned into opportunities for promoting Force image is the plan’s ultimate expected outcome. The bureau continues to enhance its capability in proactively identifying and avoiding public relations opportunities and vulnerabilities. An e-library documenting lines-to-take, media releases, press conference memorandums and interview materials for referential purposes has also been planned for launch.