The end of the Second World War promised an optimistic, new “1946 outlook” for Hong Kong. The post-war world would be one of decolonization.

What role did Hong Kong police play? Did officers become more responsive to the people or more than ever an “arm of government”? What impact did the 1949 Communist victory on the Chinese mainland have? What about the flow of refugees in the 1950s? How did police respond to the rise of triads and corruption?

On February 10, Professor Carol A.G. Jones from the University of Wolverhampton will tell how powerful post-1945 social and political factors shaped Hong Kong’s police force and the legacy for modern policing. An expert on socio-legal studies, Jones is writing a book about law and order in China. Her speech begins at 4 p.m. in Room 1118 of the K.K. Leung Building at the University of Hong Kong.

A police officer keeps watch in Hong Kong.