Peaceful protesters should be left alone, ex-Police Chief says, but he warns bad elements that the Force could get much tougher

Here is an interview conducted by HONG KONG BUZZ by email with Angus Stevenson-Hamilton, President of the Royal Hong Kong Police Association. When Angus retired from the Hong Kong Police Force he was an Assistant Commissioner, one of the most senior expatriate officers of recent decades. He recently visited Hong Kong and met with serving senior officers. We asked about the stress police officers are enduring.

In this troubled situation how long are the hours the police are working on average weekly?

• Shifts amounting to 48 hours a week for those on operational duties.
• Depending on the internal security situation or likely inclement weather such as a major typhoon, officers can be called back to the station to go on 24-hour standby. For this stations are designed to have emergency accommodation and 24-hour canteen facilities if necessary. For example, I can remember during Typhoon Rose being on standby in the station for over 72 hours for deployment as and when called upon. The Auxiliary Police can also be called in to man what we call key points relieving officers for full operational deployment.

Police injuries are occurring at a high rate. The last figure we saw was 140. We know the force is well disciplined and trained, but presumably this is causing stress.

• In a situation like Hong Kong is currently experiencing you can expect officers to be injured, the number depending on the seriousness of the violence. What is of concern is the reception these officers receive at hospital for only doing their duty. Do people realise if there is no police then China will move in? I have read that in some countries there are dedicated medical facilities to deal with injured soldiers or police.

What do you think of the police management of this crisis and their tactics so far?

• I think the management was placed in a very difficult situation initially and were probably caught unprepared for the scale of the demonstrations and degree of disorder.  Much of the current generation have little operational experience with the level of violence and running tactics of the demonstrators. Occupy Central was in terms of public order relatively peaceful compared with this. Consequently facing a big learning curve places officers and management under a lot of stress, especially when they felt initially that the Administration had not woken up to the reality of the situation and had left them to get on with it. The recruitment of another deputy with more hands-on operational experience will I believe turn things around. When I was meeting officers I noticed an increasing determination to get on top of the situation and adopt a more hands-on approach, adopting a harder line where necessary.

What weapons do the police have that they have yet to deploy? Are there any circumstances in which the police will fire real bullets?

• Equipment includes short and long batons, handcuffs, rubber bullets, riots shields, chemical mace for close support and CS smoke for longer ranges, armoured personnel carriers, two water cannons. A variety of other weapons, including the Colt .38 revolver (standard issue) and automatic pistols and automatic rifles for situations such as terrorist incidents and airport security. Automatic weapons could be used when faced with a petrol bomb or bomb being thrown at you or somebody deliberately driving a vehicle at you. What the public don’t probably appreciate is that if an officer opens fire, in most circumstances, it will be to disable, not to kill. Range training should reflect this.

What new tactics might the police deploy?

• Tactics will have to vary according to the prevailing situation. Basically rapid response units to deploy to incidents as and when they arise. I would also deploy arrest squads behind them to make arrests as and when necessary. Good communications and ground intelligence are critical so that the appropriate response can be taken. Intelligence gathering on ring leaders should to be enhanced so that they can be arrested and brought before the courts. Where protestors are obviously peaceful leave them alone and only have a minimal presence.

When might the People’s Liberation Army come onto the streets?

• The P.L.A. being deployed is a total misnomer. After Tiananmen Square the Chinese realised that the use of the army was not appropriate. As a result the People’s Armed Police was formed to deal with internal security. They have the strength and equipment to deploy rapidly anywhere in China and have been used for major disaster relief on a number of occasions. People should wake up to the fact that they could probably fully deploy in Hong Kong within an hour. The last thing Hong Kong wants or needs.