The Hong Kong Island was ceded to the British Empire and made a colony in 1842. Although a small police force composed of European, Indian, and Chinese personnel was set up shortly after the British assumed the governance of Hong Kong, the official Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) did not come into being until 1844. The Force has come a long way from being “a paramilitary force in the service of its colonial ruler”. Wave after wave of formation, specialization, rebuilding, challenges, and reform throughout the years have propelled a change of the HKPF into a professional urban police force whose essence lies in the service of the citizens of Hong Kong.
With more than 200 selected photographs, some not even published, the book guides readers on a journey of police development in Hong Kong, illustrating the changes throughout the hundred-odd years in a straightforward manner, and pointing out the details in training, service, buildings, and protocol along the way which gradually add up over the century to make the Force what it is today.