Dissertation Thesis Research Report: Police Performance in Hong Kong

This dissertation research report investigates the factors influencing the effectiveness of the police force in Hong Kong. The study explores the challenges faced by the police, including infrastructure limitations, management issues, equipment scarcity, and political biases. The research employs a literature review and qualitative interviews with 100 police officers to identify key influences on performance. The objectives include identifying current effectiveness, major barriers, areas for improvement, and the impact of political, social, economic, and legal factors. Findings reveal insights into the police's role in maintaining social order, the impact of various factors on their performance, and recommendations for enhancing their capabilities. This report, available on Desklib, provides a comprehensive analysis of the Hong Kong police force's performance and offers valuable insights for improving social security and protection.

Running Head: Dissertation Thesis
Research Report: Investigate factors affecting the effectiveness of police performance in Hong
Kong

Dissertation Thesis
Abstract
This research report reflects the results of a study that has been undertaken on the
various factors influencing the performance of the police force in Hong Kong. The police
force is one of the key authorities that have been entrusted with the duty of providing
protection and safety to the society against any criminal or antisocial activities. However,
there are various advantages and disadvantages of working as a policeman in the civil
society. This is because there are various adverse forces in the society and community that act
as barriers or hindrances to the normal functioning of the police force. The research has
endeavoured to find out these major influences that act as deterrents to the seamless
functioning of the police force in Hong Kong. The methodology of the study consisted of a
literature review procedure that delved into various sources of information such as authentic
websites, journals, reports, etc. for gathering essential information which the analysis of the
study was based upon. The study also included a primary research process that was
undertaken on 100 policemen in different districts and localities of Hong Kong. They were
administered with interview questionnaires such that qualitative information can be collected
from them on the various challenges they face in their professions on a daily basis. Finally,
the findings of the literature review were compared with that of the qualitative interview
results and the existing research gaps have been identified. Based on the conclusions of the
study, the plausible recommendations have been offered to the police force personnel such
that they can offer even better social security and protection to the people by trying to
mitigate the major challenging factors that might prevent them from performing as per their
capabilities and expectations of the public.
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Dissertation Thesis
Acknowledgements
I hereby acknowledge that the said research thesis is solely my own creation and has
not been copied or abridged from any other source. I would like to thank my professors,
colleagues, family members and the Hong Kong police force for their assistance in this
project. It would not have been possible for me to undertake the research and finish it
successfully, without their extensive support and encouragement.
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Dissertation Thesis
Table of Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................1
Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................2
Chapter One- Introduction.........................................................................................................5
The Problem...........................................................................................................................5
the functions of police personnel...........................................................................................5
Rationale of the study.............................................................................................................6
Significance of the study........................................................................................................7
Objectives of the study...........................................................................................................7
Chapter Two- Literature Review...............................................................................................8
Introduction............................................................................................................................8
Research questions...............................................................................................................16
Chapter Three- Methodology...................................................................................................17
Research Approach..............................................................................................................17
Data collection methods.......................................................................................................18
Qualitative data collection................................................................................................18
Quantitative data collection..............................................................................................19
sample..................................................................................................................................20
research instrument..............................................................................................................21
Data analysis methods..........................................................................................................23
limitations.............................................................................................................................24
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Dissertation Thesis
Chapter Four- Findings............................................................................................................25
Qualitative Research Findings:............................................................................................25
Quantitative Research Findings:..........................................................................................28
Chapter Five- Discussion.........................................................................................................43
Chapter Six- Conclusions.........................................................................................................46
Reference..................................................................................................................................49
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Dissertation Thesis
Chapter One- Introduction
THE PROBLEM
The problem that the said research addressed encompassed the various factors that
influenced the effectiveness of the performance of the police force in Hong Kong. The main
purpose behind the development of the police force by the government is to ensure there is
social law and order within the society (Li & Sun, 2015). The police force is entrusted with
the responsibility of tackling various situations within the society such as crimes, violence,
acts of theft, burglary, terrorist activities, sexual harassment against women and a host of
other activities. The traffic police are in charge of establishing law and order related to the
flow of traffic within the city such that there are no unnecessary traffic jams and accidents
due to the non-observance of driving rules and guidelines. But, on many occasions the
policemen and policewomen are not able to perform their duties effectively because of
various factors such as lack of proper infrastructure, management, scarcity of modern
equipment and political biases. The police personnel are trained and developed with the oath
to dedicate their lives to the welfare and protection of the society at all costs. But, on various
occasions they are not able to stay true to their promises. Some of these factors are induced
by the social and political system of the country while the others depend on the personal
ethics and honesty of the police personnel (Clarence, 2010).
THE FUNCTIONS OF POLICE PERSONNEL
The Hong Kong police can be considered as the gatekeepers of the entire criminal
justice infrastructure and they are also the main commanding agents in the domain of
ensuring social stability, performing restoration of order and controlling the various problems
in the society(Wong, 2010).They are also entrusted with the powers related to criminal law
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Dissertation Thesis
by the government and they are also empowered to play the role of crime fighters such that
they are able to successfully suppress the various criminal activities. The police personnel are
also empowered to enforce the various laws and protocols related to the compliance(Chan &
Chan, 2012).They have the power to stop and search any person if they suspect something
illegal. They can question any person regarding any act of offence or crime and undertake a
thorough search on any person that they suspect to be associated with an anti-social or illegal
act. According to Section 49 of Public Order ordinance, any police personnel from the Hong
Kong police department might ask a person to furnish his or her identity proof for the purpose
of inspection. If that person is not able to produce the required ID proofs, then the police have
the authority to impose a fine of around $10,000 or recommend an imprisonment of that
person for a minimum period of 6 months. Thus, the primary function of the Hong Kong
police force is to maintain law and order in the country and play the role of a peacekeeper in
the society and intervene in any situation that might pose threat to the safety, security and
sustainability of the society(Law Teacher, 2018).
RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
The rationale behind conducting the research study has been to understand the role
played by the Hong Kong police force in protecting the social law and order of the nation
over the years. It is necessary to understand that the reason that the common people are safe
and secure today inside and outside their homes is due to the pivotal role played by the police
personnel in tackling various challenges and ensuring that they offer their ethics, dedication
and sincerity in upkeep of the overall social security and stability. But, there are many
occasions where the police personnel have displayed inefficiency to successfully deal with
various cases of crime or other forms of violence in the society. The research has been
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Dissertation Thesis
undertaken in order to delve deeper into these loopholes that have made the job of the police
unsatisfactory at times. The identification of the problem areas would help the police
department and the government of Hong Kong in devising quick and prudent strategies such
that the police personnel are adequately backed up and supported with the necessary
requirements that could be strategic power or material equipment such as modern weapons
and ammunition to curb the occurrence of various unlawful activities.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research study has been executed for examining the roles played by the police
personnel of the Hong Kong police department in ensuring the observance of law and order
in the society. In course of the research study, it was observed that there are many situations
where the police personnel have not been able to showcase or demonstrate their expected
level of competence. This is because of various factors that restrict them on many cases from
playing the expected role in solving the case by identifying and arresting the convicts as per
the rules and regulations pertaining to the penal codes. These factors are in the form of lack
of adequate leadership and management on certain occasions, scarcity of modern state-of-the-
art equipment and technology to fight criminal and terrorists that use highly advanced
categories of weapons and ammunition. Often the police personnel are not able to take the
necessary actions due to the pressure of various political parties. Hence, the research has been
conducted with the intent of revealing the major challenges that act as barriers to the
functioning of the police units within the country along with the various positive outcomes
that the society has gained from the presence of the police force.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The research has the following objectives that it endeavoured to achieve:
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Dissertation Thesis
 To identify the current state of effectiveness of the police force in Hong Kong in
terms how active and successful they are in handling emergency situations
 To determine the major barriers restricting the actions and operations of the police
force in Hong Kong
 To find out the areas where there are needs of improvement in the current police
actions infrastructure and systems in Hong Kong
 To identify the impact of the political, social, economic and legal factors on the police
performance in Hong Kong
Chapter Two- Literature Review
INTRODUCTION
The police personnel provide different functions which ensure social and economic
growth and protection of the public safety and security in a nation where the citizens could
live in a peaceful and disciplined environment. The effectiveness of their performance
depends on several factors. These factors have been analyzed with the help of different
sources of information which are collected to extract the needful information and resources
regarding the factors affecting the effectiveness of police performance and the study have
been conducted in the context of Hong Kong. The resources have been collected from the
context of several nations and also on Hong Kong so that the findings could be used to enrich
the knowledge and to increase the quality of the study.
According to Tengpongsthorn (2017), there are various factors which are responsible
for the performance of the police works. From the research on this ground there are two
factors which are mainly the motivators and hygiene factors found to be having positive
impacts on the performances of the work of the police. The effectiveness of the police work
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Dissertation Thesis
performance gets positively impacted if the motivation factors and hygiene factors. The
conditions in which the police personnel work, the adequacy of the equipment and job
satisfaction are the major factors towards increasing the performance of the police personnel.
It is found that lack of modern equipment and imbalance of workforce and manpower could
hinder the effectiveness of the working performance of the police personnel. It is very
important to understand the factors which are really important to increase the performance of
the police personnel as they provide services towards enhancement of safety, security, peace,
discipline, regulations and protection of common properties of the public. The functions
being performed by the police personnel are meant for the increase in growth of the social
and economic development of the countries. Each police personnel could contribute to the
effectiveness with which the entire police system of the countries could become reliable and
effectives (Tengpongsthorn, 2017).
In the opinion of Mboroki (2012), there are certain political, social and economic
factors which exert influence on the effectiveness of the performances of the police
personnel. The pressure of the political leaders or the factors sometimes intervene the job
performance of the police. The political influence is very common. There are certain
situations when the public themselves start intervening into the jobs of the police and that
makes difficult for the police to take their actions. For example, in case of entertainment
place the public intervention gets highly increased and to establish discipline and security to
the celebrities the police personnel have to come up certain strict regulations and control in
such places. Sometimes the actions of the police personnel get influenced or impacted either
positively or negatively by the economic factors. The context and contents of the policies
towards the jobs of police also influence their performance effectiveness. There could be
many confusions if the policy contexts and contents are not fully communicated to the police
personnel in clear terms and they are made aware of the changes in the policies. The
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Dissertation Thesis
administration of the working of the policy contents has to be established so that the working
of the police personnel could be channelized in the right direction (Mboroki, 2012).
According to Adorjan and Lee (2016) the correct assessment of the police
performance in Hong Kong can be made through the feedbacks from the general public that
are facing various issues daily in their lives where they require the services of the police in
one way or the other. The researcher conducted a focus group study on the public for
collecting the feedbacks that have helped in understanding the overall perception of the
public regarding the effectiveness of police performance. The observations indicated that the
majority of the public are generally happy with the effectiveness of the police in handling
crimes, but they were apprehensive and gave mixed reviews in the domain of police
effectiveness in public order policing and stop and search performed by the police on most of
the occasions. The article also reflects the importance of the police-citizen relationship that is
instrumental in creating an ambience of mutual trust that ensures that the citizens trust the
police personnel and their strategies and vice versa. The research necessitates the existence of
a warm relationship between the police and the citizens such that they can cooperate with
each other and help one another in times of need. Thus, it can be said that the overall
performance of the police in Hong Kong is appreciated by the majority of the citizens but
there are certain areas where there needs to be more effectiveness from the side of the police
personnel and the overall infrastructure of the entire police system (Adorjan & Lee, 2016).
In the opinion of Robinson and Tilley (2009), the investigations related to the volume
crime incidents and the related processes of attrition are important domains for understanding
the essence of police performance. The research has been conducted on more than 3000
incidents involving motor vehicle and burglary where many participants have been
interviewed and data were recorded in the form of documentary to arrive at the major factors
those are associated with detection. The results of the study have depicted that the
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Dissertation Thesis
performance of the police improved when there were substantial leads available at the crime
scene where the offender was caught immediately or at later stages when the offenders were
caught. Hence, the availability or non-availability of sufficient leads affects the police
performance in different situations (Robinson & Tilley, 2009).
In the opinion of Pimton (2001), the police duty encompasses the overseeing of the
activities at the entertainment places like the clubs and dance bars. The public administration
law requires that these places must function according to the ethical and legal guidelines such
that no illegal and unsolicited activities are conducted in such places. In many of the
entertainment places there are random incidents of crime and illegal activities. There are
many cases of sexual harassment on women, brawls, even murders in many entertainment
places that are investigated by the police department. In some of the cases, the police
personnel are not allowed to conduct a true and fair analysis of the incident and they are even
discouraged not to proceed on some of the cases if they involve some influential people like a
politician, or an influential person in the society. These persons use their power and position
to hamper the normal police investigations such that the police department cannot proceed on
such cases and must close the case. This often occurs due to some of the corrupted police
personnel also that are ready to accept bribes for not proceeding with such cases. Therefore,
the political and social corruption can be considered as one of the major causes of hindrance
of the police activities (Pimton, 2001).
According to Lee and Yun (2014), the participation of the police force in some cases
also depends in some of the cases where they must work in conjunction with private
investigators. In many criminal cases the client gives the responsibility of doing the
investigation for a crime on some private detectives. The police department also must play its
own role. Therefore, there is the need to work together to find clues and evidences that could
help to solve the case. In such situations, the police personnel need to cooperate with the
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