Exclusive | Is there a future for foreign police officers in Hong Kong? | South China Morning Post


The Hong Kong Police Force's reliance on foreign officers is ending, with only 60 expected by the end of next year, marking the end of an era.
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The era of expatriate officers in the 173-year history of the Hong Kong Police Force is expected to end in a decade as the last serving overseas staff call time on their careers.

The 30,000-strong force will see the number of serving expat police fall to just 60 by the end of next year after decades of domination by colonial administrators.

Some retired colonial officers and policing experts said it was sad to see their numbers slump, as they had played a significant part in the city’s history, but the sunset was “inevitable”.

According to official figures, there were 82 serving expat officers as of September 1, ranging from inspectors to assistant commissioner.

Ann Calderwood (second from left), the commandant of the police training school in 1978, inspects a parade with superintendent Wong Kang-chow. Photo: SCMP Pictures

“Since the beginning of 2017, 10 officers have already retired and seven more will retire in the coming months, making this year the retirement peak for the serving officers on overseas agreement terms,” a police spokeswoman said.

She added that 15 more officers were expected to retire from the thin blue line next year.

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