Whilst 99 percent of the member of police force is Hong Kong are Chinese, the overall establishment reflects the cosmopolitan nature of the city and, since the end of the recruitment of Europeans in 1994, as of January 2018, there were about 100 Europeans in the force from inspector to assistant commissioner, and a handful of officers with Indian, Pakistani, Thai, Singaporean and Malaysian heritage. Moreover, many Chinese officers have resided in countries such as Canada, the US, Australia and the UK. New recruits have to satisfy basic academic and language requirements (being able to read and write Chinese and speak fluent Cantonese) as well as have a permanent residence in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regions (SAR).
