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Following is a question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (October 29):
Question:
I have learnt that the Police had earlier formulated guidelines specifying that suspected cases of cruelty to animals would be referred to the officers in the crime investigation units (CIUs) for investigation. However, the Police recently refused to follow up a relevant case reported to a police report centre by telephone by a member of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of reports involving suspected cruelty to animals received by the Police since the formulation of the above guidelines; and among such reports, the respective numbers of those passed to officers of CIUs for investigation, those referred to other government departments (with a breakdown by the name of the departments), those in which prosecution was instituted and those in which the persons concerned were convicted, as well as the penalties imposed on the convicted persons;
(b) whether it has received, since the formulation of the above guidelines, any complaint (e.g. refusing to investigate) against the investigation approach adopted by the Police; if it has, of a breakdown by the subject of the complaints and, among such complaints, the number of substantiated cases; and whether the Police have reviewed the guidelines regularly, so as to improve the handling of such reports;
(c) whether guidelines have been provided to frontline uniform officers at present to help them decide if a case involves cruelty to animals and if it is necessary to refer the case to relevant government departments for investigation; if such guidelines have been provided, of the details;
(d) as the Government stated in its paper to this Council that "inter-departmental meetings were held among the Police, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to draw up new operating protocols to enhance inter-departmental cooperation in the handling of reports of cruelty to animals", whether the relevant drafting work has been completed; if so, of the details of the operating protocols;
(e) whether it has assessed if entrusting with officers of CIUs investigation of cases of cruelty to animals has increased their workload and affected their other duties; if it has, of the assessment results; and
(f) whether the Government will reconsider setting up a dedicated unit in the Police specialised in handling reports of cruelty to animals?
Reply:
President,
On the question raised by the Hon James To, the information provided by the Police are as follows -
(a) The new guidelines of the Police on handling reports on cruelty to animals were promulgated in late January 2008. Subsequent to their promulgation, 65 cases of cruelty to animals were reported to the Police as at end September 2008. The Police handled the initial enquiry for all 65 cases, 52 of which were subsequently investigated by officers in the crime investigation units, resulting in 44 arrests. The remaining 13 cases were not further investigated as there was no evidence of case of cruelty to animals. None required referral to other government departments. To date, prosecution action has been taken on eight cases and the details of which are set out in Annex.
(b) The Police Force does not maintain statistics on complaints made by the public against members of the Police Force specifically regarding the handling of cruelty to animal cases. All complaints regarding police handling of reports from the public, irrespective of the subject matter, will be thoroughly investigated according to the established procedures. Disciplinary action will be taken if the investigation shows that any member of the Police Force has failed to act in accordance with the Force orders in handling a police report. The new guidelines have been working satisfactorily since their promulgation in late January 2008. The Police will review the procedures on an annual basis to ensure their effectiveness.
(c) Following extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders, including police officers, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (HKSPCA), the Police Force has issued new internal orders on how reports of alleged cruelty to animal cases should be handled. In brief, on receiving a report of an allegation of cruelty to an animal, police officers will attend the scene. The Police will then conduct initial enquiry into the case and will take into account such factors as injuries to the animal, the location, the informants' and eyewitnesses' observations, etc. If there is a suspicion that a case of animal cruelty has occurred, crime officers will immediately take over the investigation. If necessary, the Police will seek assistance from AFCD and HKSPCA.
(d) Inter-departmental meetings were held in December 2007 and January 2008 among the Police, AFCD, FEHD and HKSPCA to, in the light of the review outcome, review the procedures for initial handling of reports of alleged cruelty to animal at the scene of incidents, subsequent investigation and follow-up actions. New operating protocols were drawn up to enhance inter-departmental cooperation in the handling of such reports.
In accordance with the new operating protocol, the Police subsequently drew up the new guidelines on handling reports of animal cruelty (response to part (a) above refers) and revised relevant internal orders (response to part (c) above refers).
(e) The number of reports on alleged cruelty to animals is comparatively small (65 cases) compared to the total number of reports of various nature received by the Police (996 966 in the first nine months of 2008). The workload thus generated is not considered to be substantial.
(f) The criminal investigation teams in police districts have the required manpower, capability and experience in handling such cases. If an upward trend of such cases is observed in a particular police district, the Police will consider adopting a comprehensive and focused approach and assigning designated teams to carry out the investigation. Where necessary, the Police will seek assistance from AFCD and HKSPCA. These arrangements provide flexibility in the Police Force's deployment of resources and are more effective than the setting up of "Animal Police" in handling cases of alleged cruelty to animals.
Ends/Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Issued at HKT 11:50
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