ABSTRACT
Police reform is ubiquitous.2 It is all around us. Reform is necessary to keep up with change, political or social. Reform is inevitable to assure survival of the fittest, for example, with scandal comes reform. Reform is wholesome as it stands for improvement, for example, with President Lyndon Johnson’s war on crime in the United States (1968) and Governor Murray MacLehose’s war on corruption in Hong Kong (1974). Last but not the least, police reform is welcomed as it allays public concerns and promises future hope. In doing so, it serves the interests of some and fulfills the aspirations of many. Police reform is all of the above and more. According to Professor Savage, in concrete terms, police reform in the United Kingdom results from: ‘public inquiries, miscarriages of justice, legal changes, political agendas and cultural shifts…’3
This chapter reviews literature on ‘Police Reform’. It variously investigates into the nature, topologies, conduct, impact and assessment of police reform. Section II: ‘HKP Reform Inquiries’ reports on a number of high-profile HKP Reform Inquires, from The Caldwell Commission (1858) to the Sir Alastair Blair-Kerr Commission (1973) to The Coopers & Lybrand Consultant Report (1993) to Lan Kwai Fang (LKF) Disaster Report (1993) to Hong Kong Audit Commission (1999). Section III is a brief ‘Conclusion’.
