The Commissioner of Police () heads the Hong Kong Police Force and, in accordance with Section 4 of the Police Force Ordinance, reports to the chief executive of Hong Kong and the Security Bureau. The current commissioner is Joe Chow Yat Ming, appointed by the State Council of China on 2 April 2025.
Officers in command
Commissioners of Police currently are mandated to retire before they reach the age of 58, but may be extended upon exceptional circumstances.
Early heads were often military officers or had previous policing experience in the United Kingdom or other British colonies. Many joined the Force in senior command postings before their promotions. Li is the only Commissioner to rise from lower ranks (as Probationary Sub-Inspector) and Hui joined as a probationary Inspector.
+List of heads of Hong Kong Police ForcePortraitNameTook officeLeft officeLength of TenureNotesUnder British ruleChief Magistrates and Chief of PoliceWilliam Caine30 April 18411844CaptainGeorge Thomas HalyFeb 1844Captain; Acting Superintendent of Police and officer with the 41st Madras Native InfantryJohn BruceMar 1844Acting Superintendent of Police and officer with the 18th Royal IrishCaptain Superintendent of PoliceCharles May1844/45?1860/62?Superintendent of A Division of the Metropolitan PoliceEdmund Haythorne18601862British Army officerWilliam Quinn18621866/67?Member of Bombay Police and first police officer to head Hong Kong PoliceWalter Meredith Deane1866/67?1892Cadet Officer from Britain sent to head forceAlexander H. Adam Gordon18921893Major-General; Superintendent of Victoria GaolFrancis Henry May18931901/02?Cadet Officer and the Assistant Colonial SecretaryFrancis Joseph Badeley19021913Cadet Officer and Colonial civil servantCharles Messer19131918Cadet Officer and Colonial civil servantEdward Dudley Corscaden Wolfe19181930Cadet Officer and Colonial civil servantInspector General of PoliceEdward Dudley Corscaden Wolfe19301934Thomas Henry King19341935/38?Cadet Officer and Colonial civil servantCommissioner of PoliceThomas Henry King1935/38?1940/41?John Pennefather-EvansApril 1940/1941?25 December 1941served in the police force of the Federated Malay StatesUnder Japanese RuleCaptain of the Hong Kong KempeitaiKennosuke Noma25 December 194118 January 1945Executed as a war criminal in 1947Under British ruleCommissioner of PoliceCharles Henry Sansom19451946Colonel; British Military Administration Duncan William McIntosh19461954former Deputy Commissioner of Police of SingaporeArthur Crawford Maxwell19541959police officer in Malaya and Commissioner of Police of Sarawak in 1947–1949; Deputy Commissioner with Hong Kong Force in 1949 Henry Wylde Edwards Heath1 April 195918 December 1966Member of Hong Kong ForceEdward Tyrer19 December 196621 July 1967Member of Hong Kong ForceEdward C. Eates22 July 19671969joined force in 1963 as Assistant Commissioner following police service in Pakistan, Sierra Leone and GambiaCharles Payne Sutcliffe196913 January 1974previous served in Metropolitan Police, Tanganyika; joined Hong Kong Police as Assistant Commissioner in 1960Brian Slevin14 January 197425 March 1979formerly Deputy Commissioner Roy Henry25 March 197915 April 1985joined force in 1973; previous colonial police officer in Malaysia and Commissioner of Police in FijiRaymon Anning15 April 19851 December 1989served with Metropolitan Police and other British forces; joined Hong Kong Police in 1983Li Kwan-ha2 December 19892 July 1994joined force as Probationary Sub-Inspector in 1957Eddie Hui3 July 199430 June 1997joined force as Probationary InspectorUnder Chinese ruleCommissioner of PoliceEddie Hui1 July 19971 January 2001Tsang Yam-pui2 January 20019 December 2003Lee Ming-kwai10 December 200315 January 2007Tang King-shing16 January 200710 January 2011Andy Tsang11 January 20114 May 2015Stephen Lo5 May 201518 November 2019Chris Tang19 November 201925 June 2021Raymond Siu25 June 20212 April 2025Joe Chow2 April 2025Incumbent
References
External links Government of HKSAR Organisation chart of Hong Kong Government