It is very important for the rule of law in Hong Kong to have a system than can earn the trust of the people as well as the trust of the police. The IPCC Bill along with a package of 44 proposals for reform was introduced in LegCo on July 10 of this year. Although reform is welcomed, this bill, now under discussion, has been criticized for going nowhere near far enough. The proposals have also highlighted some alarming inadequacies of the current system. This suggests that details of a case against an officer can currently be revealed to the individual accused of misconduct, thus allowing officers to prepare to defend themselves.
Cases can take several years to be investigated.
Currently there is no time limit for action when a review of a decision is requested in a complaint case. A time limit of 30 days is proposed. The report downplays the benefits of an investigatory body that is separate from the police department, and highlights the benefits of systems similar to Hong Kong's. For example, the report covers five jurisdictions which have systems similar to that in Hong Kong, without noting that in three of these, the monitoring body does have investigative powers which can be used if necessary. In the jurisdictions covered that did have an independent system, the report finds it necessary to point out that such systems are relatively new and thus how they will work is unknown.