| P: | I am talking today with Superintendant Watson of the Hong Kong Marine Police in Sai Kung. Good morning
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| A: | Good morning Petra
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| P: | How long have you been in the Police in Hong Kong and what do you do within the force?
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| A: | I’ve worked in the police force for around 23 years. Most of this time has been spent in Marine Region. In the police force, you tend to get transferred every 2-3 years to different posts for career development purposes, so most officers during the course of their police service will have exposure to a diverse range of duties.
As a superintendent, I’m presently the Divisional Commander of Marine East Division, responsible for the policing of the eastern waters off Sai Kung up to the Hong Kong SAR Boundary of Administration. I have a total of 378 officers and nine police launches under my direct command working on an around-the-clock basis. I’m answerable to the District Commander Marine Outer Waters District who, in turn, reports to the Regional Commander Marine. I particularly enjoy the work in Marine, which is considered to be a specialist posting within the police force, as one gets to see parts of Hong Kong that few members of the public have the opportunity to see.
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| P: | That must be nice.
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| A: | It certainly is.
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| P: | What are the main roles of the marine police today in Hong Kong?
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| A: | Well Petra, the duties of the police are defined in Section 10 of the Police Force Ordinance. Apart from the normal constabulary duty of maintaining law and order and protecting life and property, the marine police assist other Government departments in combating illegal immigration; smuggling activity, and we also help to enforce conservation and maritime laws. Another important function is to protect the integrity of the Hong Kong SAR Boundary of Administration under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy.
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| P: | And has this changed much since 1997?
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| A: | Well essentially our role has remained pretty much unchanged since the change of sovereignty. However, like any dynamic society, the prevailing law and order situation will very much govern our policing emphasis.
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| P: | So can you give me an example of this?
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| A: | For example, preventing and detecting seaborne illegal immigration has been a major priority of the Region for many years and, though it remains an important role, the number of Mainland IIs entering Hong Kong has been in continuous decline – so for example from a high of over 37 and a half thousand in 1993 to a record low of just under 4,000 in 2003.
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| P: | That’s quite a drop
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| A: | That certainly is. Also, the rampant and widespread speedboat smuggling of the early 1990s has largely disappeared, though smaller-scale activity still takes place in local waters today. Though these policing problems are not so great today, other types of illegal activity have surfaced more recently.
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| P: | Such as?
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| A: | Well, for instance, a fairly new trend has been the theft of Buddhist Pine trees from Hong Kong’s country parks by sampans operated from the Mainland. These trees are considered to have good “feng shui” and are much sought-after by Mainland developers who are prepared to pay high prices to have them as decorative additions to prestigious property developments. I’m told some of these trees can fetch more than HK$50,000.
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| P: | That is a lot of money for a tree.
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| A: | It certainly is.
But also on the international side, security concerns following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US has led to the introduction of a mandatory international security code for merchant ships and the port facilities that service them. This code applies to Hong Kong and the marine police assist the Director of Marine in enforcing the code in local waters.
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| P: | So, you mentioned speed boat smuggling and occasionally you see articles in the newspapers about smuggling operations being busted by the department. Is smuggling still a large problem, and what sort of things gets smuggled these days?
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| A: | Well firstly, the prevention and detection of smuggling-related activity is the core responsibility of the Customs and Excise Department, but we nevertheless play a significant role in helping to combat this problem by handing over cases we come across to them. As Hong Kong is a free port and remains a separate customs territory from the Mainland under the Basic Law, most non-dutiable items can be freely imported and exported. However, most items shipped to the Mainland are subject to import duty, evasion of which is a serious criminal offence on the Mainland.
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| P: | So, is it just between China and Hong Kong?
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| A: | Well, I would say that most of the activity is principally between the Mainland and Hong Kong, though containerised smuggling activity to other countries is not unknown.
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| P: | So there must be co-operation between the Hong Kong Marine Police and the neighbouring authorities in combating smuggling?
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| A: | At the working level, there are frequent cross-border liaison meetings held with our Mainland counterparts to discuss such things as cross-border crime and illegal immigration. Though smuggling-related activity may be discussed, this topic is mainly dealt with by Customs and Excise who maintain their own liaison channel.
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| P: | Okay, so what are the biggest hurdles you face when trying to catch smugglers or illegal immigrants?
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| A: | Well, one of the main problems is the proximity of the Hong Kong SAR Boundary of Administration. As we have no legal authority to operate outside the Boundary of Administration, the detection and interception of suspicious vessels has to be done inside the sea boundary. This task is obviously more difficult when we encounter high-speed vessels operating at night without navigation lights.
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| P: | That must be tough
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| A: | It is and also quite dangerous.
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| P: | I’m sure. So, just how safe are Hong Kong waters? I read about an armed pirate boarding a cargo vessel off Clear Water Bay recently – is this unusual?
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| A: | Well, Hong Kong has some of the safest and most heavily policed waters in the world – for instance a police launch can reach the scene of an incident anywhere in Hong Kong waters within a matter of minutes. Technically, piracy can only be committed in international waters so it’s not a problem that affects Hong Kong. The very few armed robberies that have been reported in local waters over the past few years have largely involved vessels engaged in high-risk business activities and that handle large amounts of cash. It is extremely rare for members of the public to become victims of crime in local waters.
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| P: | So it’s safe to take the sampan to the local beach still.
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| A: | Not a problem!
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| P: | Good. (laughs)
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| P: | Ok, on another subject, there are now several marine parks in Hong Kong, does the marine police get involved in protecting these areas? And what are the main problems you face in dong so?
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| A: | The prime responsibility for policing the marine parks and reserves rests with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department who have their own vessels for this purpose. However, we will assist and respond to reports when called upon to do so. Our police launches will also monitor such areas during the course of their routine patrols.
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| P: | Thank you, and finally, do you see the role of the marine police changing much in the next ten years?
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| A: | Marine Region is currently conducting a review of its own operations with the objective of trying to enhance policing effectiveness over the next 10 to 15 years. A so-called “Versatile Maritime Policing Response” is being considered that is likely to involve the use of new technology to provide more effective coverage of Hong Kong at reduced cost. Security of local port facilities and of international shipping, vital for the future economic prosperity of Hong Kong, is likely to become a top priority as well.
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| P: | Very interesting. Well thank you very much for your time this morning. It‘s been very enlightening and it is good to hear that Hong Kong waters are in such safe hands.
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| A: | Thank you very much Petra, it’s been a pleasure.
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