Police today launched the second Leadership Institute on Narcotics (L.I.O.N.) one-year anti-drug youth leadership development programme.

Addressing the kick-off ceremony, Commissioner of Police Siu Chak-yee said L.I.O.N., founded by the force's Narcotics Bureau last year, has nurtured 100 young anti-drug leaders and disseminated the message of “Drugs? Never!” to about 13,000 students and over 4,000 members of the public.

The Polytechnic University was invited to conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness of L.I.O.N. in a quantitative and qualitative approach.

Mr Siu said the results revealed that the programme has effectively extended mentees’ anti-drug knowledge and encouraged them to promote anti-drug messages to their schoolmates, friends and family members more actively.

Based on last year’s training, the second L.I.O.N. will include an additional visit to correctional facilities and a two-day tour to the Mainland, with a view to enhancing mentees’ sense of crime prevention, understanding of the national anti-drug strategies and national development through visiting local correctional facilities, anti-drug agencies and high-tech enterprises in the Mainland.

Mentees will also have the opportunity to participate in overseas exchange programmes to gain a better understanding of the impact of drugs on different countries, broaden their horizons as well as tell the good anti-drug stories of Hong Kong.

As many countries have legalised cannabis and other dangerous drugs in recent years, Police will continue to facilitate enforcement and work closely with the public to protect young people from harmful drugs.