On May 15th, the Hong Kong Police Supervisory Commission issued an investigation report on the revision of the storm, which examined the demonstrations and police actions during the storm on the revision, which aroused widespread concern in the community.
Judging from the survey method, this report has considerable professionalism and objectivity. From September to December 2019, the IPCC invited 5 experts from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and other countries to form an international expert group to provide recommendations to the IPCC and provide independent assessment of the progress of the review work. At the same time, the report makes extensive use of information provided by the media and the public to the Supervisory Commission.
As of February 29, 2020, members of the public provided 12217 emails with 2562 photos and 3347 videos (including 9838 supporting police officers firing live ammunition in Tsuen Wan on October 1, 2019) ), 658 WhatsApp users provided 20,988 photos and 19,186 videos, 112 calls, and four letters and one DVD by mail / personal submission.
With the efforts of many parties, this report of more than 1,000 pages has restored a number of key facts since the storm of revision with a large number of facts and detailed data.
1. There is some form of organization behind the demonstration
In each violent demonstration, there are obviously different forms of organization, such as coordinating demonstration strategies, providing a large number of gasoline bombs and similarly designed gas masks, and the use of a large number of laser pens. To support the actions of demonstrators, an application that displays real-time police deployments has been available since August, updated by the person responsible for observing police operations. In fact, this is a battlefield application that provides information on enemy actions. The rifles, pistols and huge quantities of live ammunition discovered in recent months, as well as the large amount of materials used to make bombs, are showing some form of organization behind these activities.
2. The number of crimes in Hong Kong has increased significantly
Crime figures show that the total number of crimes recorded in 2019 was 59,225, an increase of 9.2% from 2018 (54225). The number of violent crimes in 2019 also increased from 888 (2018) by 9.1% to 9690. The police said that the increase in crime figures was due to the increase in crimes derived from demonstrations and the dilution of police resources for daily crime prevention work.
3. The identity of journalists who hindered the police from performing official duties is in doubt
During the demonstration, some reporters deliberately stood in front of the police line of defense to separate the demonstrators from the police. Standing in the middle of the two, they have reduced the effectiveness of police operations and caused serious difficulties for the police to perform their duties. The police media liaison team deployed at the scene cannot fully manage a large number of journalists and media at all times.
In addition, the identity of journalists and media workers has also received attention. At present, no organization is responsible for the registration of media organizations to verify their identity. The police believed that the "fake media" that interfered with them was a strategy adopted by the demonstrators to deliberately hinder or delay police operations. In addition, more and more journalists claim to be "network media", and their identity cannot be verified through official channels. Whether they should be regarded as "formal media" is debatable.
4. On June 12, the "Falun Front" misled demonstrators into the CITIC Tower with loudspeakers
During the demonstrations on the day, police officers used loudspeakers and gestures to repeatedly instruct demonstrators to leave Longhui Road along Tim Mei Avenue instead of CITIC Tower. Most of the demonstrators gathered on the sidewalk in front of the main entrance of CITIC Building, and followed the instructions of the "Fuzheng" through a large loudspeaker to enter the CITIC Building. The podium built by the "Falun Front" blocked the demonstrators' eyes, so that some demonstrators could not see Tim Mei Dao in fact unimpeded. Because the loudspeakers of the "FNL" were too loud, which hindered the police's dispersal action, the police officers seized the FDD's loudspeakers in accordance with the relevant regulations. Later, police officers were able to guide the demonstrators to leave along Tim Mei Avenue.
5. On June 12, the incident was called a "riot" to remind frontline police officers
At 3:30 p.m. on the same day, the Command and Control Center of the Police Headquarters declared to all frontline police officers that the situation was "riot" at that time. The event was declared a "riot" to remind front-line police officers to understand the situation to be dealt with at that time, and meant that the relevant police could use the force guidance, and if necessary, appropriate force could be used to achieve legal purposes.
6. On July 1, the withdrawal of the police from the Legislative Council is not an "empty city plan"
Some opposition parties accused the police of singing "Empty City Plan" on the evening of July 1 to lure demonstrators into the Legislative Council. The IPCC pointed out that that night, more and more people gathered outside the Legislative Council. If a police officer stays behind to protect the building, in an indoor environment, the police officer cannot use the same force used to control the situation in an open space. In addition, violent demonstrators destroyed the electrical box outside the Legislative Council Complex building and tried to cut off the power so that some of the building lights went out, making the situation worse. Considering that the violent demonstrators have escalated their violent actions and the environmental constraints at the scene, the Police Headquarters Command and Control Center decided to arrange for police officers to evacuate from the Legislative Council Complex to ensure the safety of police officers and avoid serious casualties.
7. On July 21, most of Yuen Long ’s police force was transferred to Hong Kong Island to respond to the demonstration ’s insufficient police force.
After the white man attacked the black man, some people accused him of being connected with the triad because of the police's delay. The IPCC noticed that the incident before July 21 led the police to evaluate that the situation on Hong Kong Island would be more severe than Yuen Long, thus significantly reducing the deployable resources of the Yuen Long Police District.
8. On the evening of July 21, the 999 alarm call could not be reached because someone reported a false alarm and the 999 system was paralyzed
On the night of July 21, many people complained that the 999 alarm call could not be reached. The Superintendent of Police observed that from 10:13 in the evening, Telegram and Liandeng discussion areas did have a number of posts calling people to call 999 to paralyze the operation of the system. At that time, a serious accident involving someone was injured, and the motivation of the post was doubtful. Paralyzing the operation of the 999 system not only prevents people who really need emergency services from making calls to the 999 control panel, but also causes the system to be flooded with false reports, and makes the 999 console overwhelmed and unable to receive real and important information. According to the police, between 10:30 pm and 1:30 am, there were 24,374 calls to the 999 console in the New Territories. 999 operators answered 1,100 of these calls, which means that more than 350 calls were received on average per hour. Telephone, New Territories 999 control panel workload is overloaded.
9. On the evening of July 21, the conversation between the Superintendent and the white man does not mean collusion
For Nanbianwei riot police officers who did not apprehend the people in white, the IPCC believed that the riot police officers appeared in Nanbianwei to control the scene. Due to the large number of people on both sides and the tense atmosphere at the time, the arrest was impractical. Since both groups of people were holding wooden sticks, umbrellas and other hard objects, it was appropriate to set up a line of defense to separate them. As for the scene in which the superintendent was talking with the white man, the IPCC believed that the superintendent had good reason to talk to the white man to instruct the white man to return to the south side. This is not collusion between the two parties.
10. On the evening of August 31, violent demonstrators paralyzed the operation of the Prince ’s Station and attacked the citizens.
Between 10:49 pm and 11:15 pm, the Police 999 Reporting Center received more than 50 reports concerning attacks in Prince Station, the throwing of smoke bombs, the surrounding control room on the platform, and chaos in Prince Station. Violent demonstrators attacked citizens on trains and platforms and used fire extinguishers to spray smoke, which paralyzed the operation of Prince Edward Station. The captain of the train in question was unable to close the doors, so the train could not leave the Prince Station. Someone also pressed the emergency alarm for passengers on the train. MTR reported police assistance and asked passengers to leave the trains parked on the platform. Fortunately, the incident occurred at about 11 o'clock in the evening, when the flow of people in the Prince's Station was not too much. The police ’s prompt enforcement action is necessary to restore order and law in the station.
11. On the evening of August 31, "Police killed at the Prince's Station" was unfounded rumors
Rumors that someone was killed in the Prince's Station spread quickly and widely online. This statement was only speculation at first, and then quickly turned into a rumor, and then into a so-called confirmation, and in the process there was no evidence to support it.
The person who made the allegation did not provide any evidence to support this claim. On the contrary, they raised speculations, rumors, and alleged confirmations by medical staff, HA staff, and even the chief police inspector. No one's name was mentioned, and no one came forward to confirm it. Spokesmen from the police, the Hospital Authority, the Fire Services Department and the MTR all refuted rumors that someone was killed or killed in the station. Even the Chief Secretary for Administration confirmed that no one was killed in the incident. Hong Kong is densely populated, and it is almost impossible to cover up the deaths of all people in public places with a large number of people, departments and institutions colluding with each other. Moreover, the police confirmed that they have carefully reviewed the missing population report and found no related cases.
12. The police exercised restraint when using force
In large-scale public events in the past few months, scenes of extreme violence on the street and attacks by police officers are not uncommon. For example, violent demonstrators throw gasoline bombs at close quarters or from high altitudes to police officers and police cars. In this critical situation, the police officer is indeed in a life-threatening situation. According to the guidelines on the use of force and the common law self-defense principle, the police officer has every reason to use firearms to protect himself and his comrades ’personal safety, and to calm down the commotion. Or riots. To date, more than 590 police officers have been injured. It is observed that throughout the large-scale public activities, police officers exercise restraint in the use of firearms. When the police encounter a potentially fatal attack, they all use less than lethal force, with only 12 exceptions.
A survey conducted by the University of London Police College scholars against police officers revealed that most police officers believed that the police used force during the demonstrations with reasonable and justified reasons and were in accordance with the principle of proportionality. The investigation quoted a police officer as saying: "In the past four months, our law enforcement has been very restrained. We are not like some demonstrators, like policemen like triads. If we are really so aggressive and law enforcement Violence, this movement will not last for four months. "
13. Someone has been inciting hatred on the Internet
So far, the relevant propaganda has been spreading hatred against the police, and there have been repeated online reports of alleged "police violence" against the "brothers" of the demonstrations. When demonstrators face police enforcement actions, or when their attacks on police officers and police stations are repulsed by police operations, even if the force used by the police is not deadly enough, these propaganda incitements are easily won Demonstrators' trust.
The publicity on the Internet blamed the police on many unfortunate deaths, but those were just unfounded allegations. The so-called "Prince Station Incident" caused naked accusations of murder by the police, and another female body found in the sea was accused of "suicide by the police", which is another unfounded accusation. In November 2019, a young college student fell off the building and died. Although CCTV footage showed to the public that there were no police officers on the floor where the unfortunate college student was most likely to fall, his death was used on the Internet for hate messages against the police.
14. The personal safety of the police and family members is threatened
Police officers' concerns about their own safety or the safety of their families should not be ignored. Cases of attacks on off-duty police officers have occurred repeatedly. Different online platforms and police dormitories have appeared intimidation and even death threats against individual police officers and their families, which has exacerbated the police officers ’worries. Cyberbullying and "bottom up" incidents have made police officers more worried that if their identity is exposed while on duty at large public events, their safety and well-being will be jeopardized.
At a joint meeting with the Supervisory Commission on September 17, 2019, the police pointed out that since June 2019, more than 2,000 police officers and their families have been "started", targeting online hatred against police officers and their families Speech also rose rapidly. Police officers ’names, identity card numbers, as well as their spouse ’s occupations, children ’s schools and other personal information are all disclosed online, and inflammatory statements and rumors about police killings have appeared on the Internet, and some police officers have suffered personally. Harassment, there are also rumors that the children of police officers were bullied at school.
15. Frontline police officers have high self-identity
In the report, the IPCC quoted a survey of police officers by University College London scholars that for most police officers, the identity of the police officer is very important, and 82% of the police officers interviewed agreed that "being a police officer The status of an official is very important to me. " The police officers interviewed had a relatively strong awareness of their legal status as guardians of peace. 68% of the police officers interviewed felt confident in the power granted. Interviewed police officers are generally highly satisfied with their work. 64% of interviewed police officers are satisfied with the work of police officers, and 63% of interviewed police officers said they would not consider switching to another job.