The government will rearrange and expand the organisational structure of the Macau Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau (DSFSM), with the aim of allowing the city’s law enforcement agencies to better cope with their increased workload resulting from the rising number of the city’s border checkpoints and from the growing application of advanced information technology (IT) for the police’s law enforcement tasks, Executive Council spokesman Leong Heng Teng announced Thursday.
Addressing a press conference at Government Headquarters, Leong said that the council, the government’s top advisory body, has completed its discussion of draft amendments to the existing administrative regulation (by-law) on the bureau’s organisational structure and operation, which was promulgated in 2002.
Leong noted that Macau has just got one more border checkpoint due to the recent opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB), the operation of which started on Wednesday. The delta bridge is open 24/7.
The government has said that the Qingmao border checkpoint in Ilha Verde – also a 24/7 operation – is expected to come into service at the end of next year.
The Macau Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau is tasked with providing the various entities of the city’s public security forces with administrative and technical support in a range of different aspects.
Currently, there are two departments in the Macau Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau – the Administration Department and the Technical Support Department.
According to the draft amendments announced yesterday, two additional departments will be set up – the Information System Department and the Land Border Checkpoints Department.
According to Leong, the new Information System Department is an upgrade from the Information Division currently under the existing Technical Support Department. Consequently, the number of divisions under the Technical Support Department will be decreased from four to three.
The new Information System Department will be tasked with planning the development of IT systems for the public security forces entities, ensuring the stable operation of their IT systems, and providing the public security forces entities with technical support for the management and maintenance of their IT systems, according to the draft amendments.
The new Land Border Checkpoints Department will be tasked with planning the development of facilities in the city’s land border checkpoints, coordinating the management and maintenance of facilities and equipment at the land border checkpoints, and supervising outsourced service providers when carrying out their tasks at the land border checkpoints, according to the draft amendments.
The new Information System Department and the new Land Border Checkpoints Department has each two divisions under them, Leong said.
The existing four divisions under the existing Administration Department will be reorganised into three divisions, Leong said.
In total, the expanded organisational structure will have a total of 10 divisions under four departments, as opposed to the current structure which has eight divisions under two departments.
There will be one more vice-director added to the bureau, which currently has one director and one vice-director, Leong pointed out.
According to Leong, the expanded organisational structure will increase the number of the bureau’s permanent staff (known as “quadro” in Portuguese) by 58 to 311.
According to a statement providing additional information about the draft amendments issued by the Executive Council last night, the Macau Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau plans to hire the additional 58 permanent staff over three years, from 2020 to 2022.
When asked by the media during yesterday’s press conference whether the employment of the 58 additional permanent staff members was in line with the government’s objective to streamline its public administrative structure, Leong pointed out that the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge has increased the workload of immigration officers at the city’s land border checkpoints.
Macau’s immigration service is run by the Public Security Police (PSP).
Leong underlined the large area of the HZMB Macau border inspection building and its 24/7 operation, adding it was necessary to have a sufficient number of personnel to ensure the sound operation and management of the border inspection facilities.
The draft amendments to the existing administrative regulation on the bureau’s organisational structure and operation will take effect the day after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO). Leong did not say yesterday when the draft amendments will be promulgated.
Administrative regulations do not require the legislature’s green light to come into force.
