ABSTRACT
Before diving into an investigation on HKP reform, it is best to describe what colonial policing was like, in characteristics and from experience. This chapter comprises five sections: Section I, ‘Policing with Colonial Characteristics’, provides a list of defining characteristics of colonial policing; a macro picture. It examines (colonial) policing in Hong Kong in snap shots: historically, locally, culturally and politically. Section II ‘Historical Developments of the HKP’ provides an official view of how HKP developed over time. This shows how the HKP sees its own development. ‘Colonial Policing: Continuity and Change’ (Section III) discusses what it was like to police Hong Kong in a different era in the 1880s and 1920s, with three case studies of police careers. This creates ‘up close and personal’ illustrations of how HKP and policing in Hong Kong have changed over time. Section IV, ‘Police Reformers’, discusses selected HKP senior officers who contributed to HKP reform or left a mark. It makes the point that police reform is as much about personality as it is about leadership. Section V is a brief ‘Conclusion’. All told, this chapter allows readers to see HKP reform in a different light, that is, as an enrichment projectdialogue with many, and not a monologue of one.
