The force said with effect from May 5, the entry requirements for recruiting police constables, probationary inspectors, and auxiliary police constables will be adjusted.

They include canceling the minimum height and weight requirements, which will now align with other disciplined services.

Previously, male recruits have to be at least 1.63 meters tall and weigh at least 50 kilograms, while women have to be at least 1.52m tall and weigh at least 42kg.

The requirement for applicants wearing corrective lenses to undergo unaided visual acuity tests will also be removed. Those who pass the test while wearing spectacles or contact lenses will be deemed to have met the required eyesight standard. However, the requirement for color perception tests will remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, a Recruit Police Constable Written Examination will be introduced to provide applicants an alternative way to meet the language proficiency requirements.

The Written Examination, comprised of the General Chinese Test and the General English Test, is benchmarked against Level 2 in Chinese Language and English Language in the HKDSE Examination.

Applicants passing the Written Examination will be deemed to have met the Recruit Police Constable language proficiency requirements, and the result is permanently valid.

A police spokesperson said the force had adopted proactive recruitment strategies to attract high-caliber candidates who possess the competence to become police officers.

“The HKPF will keep abreast of the times and regularly review its recruitment policy to maintain competitiveness in the human resources market,” the spokesperson added.

According to official data, with over 5,000 vacancies waiting to be filled, the force hired 170 probationary inspectors and 484 constables during the 2021-2022 financial year out of about 8,200 applicants. That translated to meeting only 87 percent and 36 percent of targets for the two ranks, respectively.