Police said on Wednesday that they are relaxing several eligibility requirements for joining the force following disappointing recruitment numbers.

Recent figures show the force only managed to hire some 650 new inspectors and constables in 2021-22 – around 40 percent of the annual target.

From Friday, male recruits will no longer have to be at least 1.63 metres tall and weigh at least 50 kilogrammes, and the requirement for women to be at least 1.52m tall and weigh at least 42kg will also be scrapped.

Those hoping to join will also be allowed to wear glasses or contact lenses during eyesight checks, but colour perception requirements will remain unchanged.

On top of these changes, recruits will no longer need to have achieved at least level two in Chinese and English public exams – just a pass in a new written test.

"The entry requirements would be adjusted for maintaining competitiveness in the human resources market and further enhancing recruitment efficiency," the force said.

It added that the lack of height and weight requirements is in line with other disciplined forces.

Steve Vickers, who runs a political and corporate risk consultancy, said the police force should redistribute current officers to the frontline from back offices to tackle the manpower crunch, instead of relaxing hiring standards.

The CEO of Steve Vickers and Associates, previously a senior officer in the Hong Kong police, said he fully recognised the difficulty in recruitment, but pointed to potential drawbacks.

"Police officers are required to carry arms, so the issue is whether or not people are physically capable of looking after that. Personally I don't think it's a good idea to reduce physical standards or academic standards," he told RTHK.

"There are other ways of re-trimming the balance of force, including keeping older officers on longer, redistributing those in back office jobs...and getting as many people as we can on the streets."