Bracing for greater challenges

It is ironic but true that often it takes a visitor to point out what’s right with Hong Kong. How many of us really pause to worry about having one of our family members come home unaccompanied late at night? Most of us wouldn’t give this a second thought because human nature being what it is, we don’t dwell on our good fortune when things are working out uneventfully and peacefully. Nothing dramatizes this fact more than the exceptional safety of our streets at all hours of the day.

Clearly we have not been giving due credit to the Hong Kong Police Force, whose high-calibre officers have created for us such a safe and secure environment, which undoubtedly is the envy of many cosmopolitan cities around the world. New evidence of the excellent performance and professionalism of our police comes from the fact that the city’s crime rate continued to decline significantly in the first half of the year, with the overall crime figures falling by 13 percent to 29,500 cases.

The low crime rate in Hong Kong has always been one of the greatest things about the city, ensuring it is a very safe place to live and bring up children and which is also a major factor for overseas investors and would-be professionals considering Hong Kong as a base of operation.

The steep fall in the overall crime rate is undoubtedly music to the ears of Hong Kong people as well as the police officers. But in no way can we afford to be complacent about that. Hong Kong has been witnessing worrying signs in recent years: Some quarters of society, particularly members of some radical youth groups, are increasingly fond of challenging the rule of law under various guises in the pursuit of their political beliefs.

In view of these new realities, Hong Kong police must build up its capacity — in terms of both skills and equipment — in handling such unlawful behavior. Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung’s new promise that the force always braces for any challenge is undoubtedly reassuring.