ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the formation of HKP in the 1840s; this will be compared with HKP reform in the 1950s. This chapter has three sections. Section I is on ‘Crimes in Hong Kong’, which discusses crime and disorder problems in Hong Kong before and after British took possession in 1844. Section II is a discussion of ‘Crime Control Measures’ being deployed to fight crime, addressing the issue of why such discriminatory and harsh measures-‘brute suppression and divisive seclusion’—were necessary. Section III ‘Policing in Hong Kong’ is about how Chief Magistrate Captain William Caine, Hong Kong’s first police chief, fights crime and maintains order. Section IV ‘The Legal Framework’ describes and discusses the provisions, merits and impact of various police laws, from Police Force Ordinance to Gambling Ordinance to Native Chinese Peace Officer Ordinance, and others (‘The legal framework’) on policing and Chinese community. Coming to the last two sections, ‘V. The Police Laws and role of HKP’ and ‘VI. Police Leadership and Policing in Hong Kong’, the chapter turns to discussing the role of HKP in enforcing law (V) and the impact of police leadership in policing Hong Kong (VI). The chapter concludes (VII) with two major observations, namely, the following: first, from its inception, HKP as a colonial force functioned less as a legal agent than a moral and culture one. Second, in its formative years, the HKP was led by powerful men, strong individuals and colourful personalities, as in the case of Cain, May and Deane. This allows us to conclude that personal leadership, not rules or system, drives and defines policing in Hong Kong.
