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The beginning of the Hong Kong Police Force

The Hong Kong Police Force was created by the British government on 1st May, 1844 with just 35 men of diverse ethnicities categorized as “A” mostly white officers, “B” Indians (mostly Punjabis), “C” Chinese who spoke Cantonese, “D” for Chinese recruited from Shandong province and “E” the Russians who arrived from Siberia after the Russian Civil War.

In 1941, more military men joined the Police Force. As the war started, some of them quit the Force and went back to their own countries, but they returned as soon as the war ended. However, the Force still remained under-manned.

Greater stability and a more organized Force

“HO JAI M’TONG CHAI”

A Chinese saying which meant that a good boy would never become a policeman.

The Chinese had a saying “HO JAI M’TONG CHAI”, which really meant a good boy would never become a policeman, and that by joining the police you were asking for your own death. That was why very few Chinese were joining the Force.

But with changing times and increased stability, the Force was able to recruit Chinese people to its ranks and a more organized police force started to take shape, including the creation of different departments with specific duties.

A second British recruitment delegation was sent to Pakistan in July 1961, which brought 47 more personnel. This further lessened the pressure on the existing members, and a three-shift rotation was introduced.

The E.U.N.T. was then assigned border patrol, emergency rescue operations and standby duties for other tasks as required from time to time. Some of the Pakistanis were promoted to high ranks and many received Colonial Service awards.