Hong Kong 2007
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298 Chapter 16 Public Order Thanks to the efforts of the disciplinary forces, and the cooperation and support of the public, Hong Kong continued to be one of the safest cities in the world. In 2007, the overall crime rate fell by 1.4 per cent while the violent crime rate fell by 0.4 per cent compared to 2006. The overall crime detection rate was 45.6 per cent. Fight Crime Committee Established in 1973 under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Fight Crime Committee provides advice and recommendations on measures to prevent and reduce crime, and coordinates crime-fighting efforts and monitors their results. During the year, the committee continued to monitor the overall crime situation and the trend of various types of commercial crime. The committee also examined the findings of a survey it commissioned on crime victimisations in Hong Kong in 2005. The survey provided an additional source of information to the Government for planning anti-crime strategies and crime prevention measures. To enhance public awareness of thefts which continued to account for the major share of crime in Hong Kong, and the marked increase in deception cases in 2006, the committee launched a publicity campaign to draw attention to these two developments. To promote involvement of senior citizens in the fight crime effort, the committee explored the feasibility of setting up a ‘Senior Police Call’ scheme. In 2007, the committee also studied the public education initiatives for young people, launched by the Correctional Services Department (CSD), to promote crime prevention and support for the rehabilitation of offenders. It supported CSD’s plan to continue to undertake various publicity activities to enhance community support for the reintegration of rehabilitated offenders into society. The committee kept under review the progress of the ‘Police Superintendent’s Discretion Scheme’, which serves as an alternative to prosecuting young offenders. Public Order 299 The committee was also briefed on the work of the Task Force on Youth Drug Abuse, which was established in October 2007 under the chairmanship of the Secretary for Justice, and offered its views on the strategies in tackling the youth drug abuse problem. District Fight Crime Committees (DFCCs) continued to play an important role in the battle against crime by monitoring the crime situation in districts and reflecting community concerns about law and order issues. They helped foster community awareness of crime prevention and encouraged community participation in combating crime through publicity programmes carried out in the districts. To foster closer cooperation, the committee and DFCCs exchanged feedback regularly on the various issues they discussed. Committee members also took turns to attend DFCC meetings and functions. In November, the committee hosted a Fight Crime Reception for all DFCC members. The occasion provided an opportunity for members to exchange views on crime issues and on ways to combat crime. Police Force With the Hong Kong Police Force’s strong commitment to maintaining law and order, Hong Kong continued to be one of the safest cities in the world for residents and visitors alike. The force also continued to build on partnership with law enforcement agencies elsewhere to tackle transnational crime threats. During the year, the Police Force played a key role in providing a safe and secure environment for a number of major events in Hong Kong, including the visit by President Hu Jintao and a series of activities held to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administraive Region (HKSAR), such as the equestrian event of ‘Good Luck Beijing – HKSAR 10th Anniversary Cup’. Law and order and public safety prevailed at all of these events. At the end of the year, the Commissioner of Police published a Statement of Strategic Directions to outline his Strategic Action Plan for 2008-2010 which charts the future direction to be taken by the Police Force. The four strategic directions were – engaging the community, enhancing personal and professional qualities of force members, strengthening criminal intelligence gathering force-wide, and supporting frontline units. These are key management areas that will be crucial to the continued success of the force in fulfilling its vision of ensuring that Hong Kong remains one of the safest and most stable societies in the world. At year-end, the Police Force had an establishment of about 27 500 police officers supported by more than 4 800 civilian staff and reinforced by some 3 800 volunteers serving in the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force. In 2007, 92 inspectors and 1 225 constables were appointed. Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force The Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force helps the regular force to manage crowds at large-scale events as well as pre-planned operations. In 2007, it also helped out at 300 Public Order different events held to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the HKSAR. Crime Reported crimes in 2007 totalled 80 796, a decrease of 0.4 per cent compared with 81 125 in 2006. The crime rate stood at 1 167 cases per 100 000 population, a drop of 1.4 per cent compared with 1 183 in 2006. The decrease in crimes was mainly due to a decline in robberies, burglaries and thefts. During the year, the number of violent crimes increased to 14 934, a rise of 0.6 per cent compared with 14 847 in 2006. Criminal intimidation, wounding and serious assaults accounted for 67.2 per cent of total violent crimes in 2007. There were notable decreases in the relatively more serious violent crimes such as homicide, robbery, blackmail and arson. In all, there were 1 216 robberies in 2007, a drop of 22.7 per cent compared to 1 574 in 2006. There were no robberies with firearms, compared with one in 2006. There were eight bank robberies, a drop of 15 compared with 23 in 2006. Most of these crimes were committed by lone robbers. The number of burglaries decreased from 5 315 in 2006 to 4 512 in 2007, a drop of 15.1 per cent, while thefts fell from 37 089 in 2006 to 36 762 in 2007, down by 0.9 per cent. Of the reported crimes in 2007, 45.6 per cent (or 36 823 crimes) were detected, resulting in the arrest of 42 940 people for various offences. Of this number, 4 664 were juveniles aged between 10 and 15 and 5 023 were young people aged between 16 and 20. Most of them were arrested for miscellaneous thefts, wounding and serious assaults, shop thefts and serious narcotics offences. There were no crimes involving the use of firearms in 2007, compared with five in 2006. During the year, the Police successfully smashed a robbery syndicate in Yuen Long and seized a pistol with seven modified cartridges. Six firearms were seized during the year, compared with 10 in 2006. The Police will continue to conduct intelligence-led operations and exchange intelligence with other law enforcement agencies to prevent incidents involving the use of firearms. There was a significant reduction in vehicle thefts. 1 398 vehicles were reported missing in 2007 compared to 1 774 in 2006, a fall of 21.2 per cent. The decrease was largely due to the stringent enforcement action taken against vehicle theft syndicates and the exchange of intelligence with other law enforcement agencies to tackle the smuggling of stolen vehicles. The number of triad-related crimes continued its downward trend. In 2007, there were 2 259 triad-related crimes, a slight decrease of 5.7 per cent compared with 2 396 in 2006. Triad-related crimes accounted for 2.8 per cent of all reported crimes during the year. To tackle triad activities, a large-scale tripartite anti-triad operation involving Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao police was mounted in June 2007. Public Order 301 Enforcement action against illegal bookmaking remained a high priority. In 2007, 317 anti-bookmaking raids were conducted. 309 people were arrested and betting slips valued at $350 million were seized. Illegal bookmaking activities remained under control. Domestic Violence Combating domestic violence continued to be a police priority. The Commissioner of Police’s ‘Operational Priorities 2007’ affirmed the Police’s commitment to handling and investigating all reports of domestic violence. The Police received 7 509 reports of domestic violence during the year, 2 505 of which were crime-related and 5 004 were miscellaneous cases, representing a rise of 59.6 per cent compared with 2006. The increase reflected the heightened public awareness of domestic violence as a result of the Government’s publicity and education campaigns as well as people’s greater readiness to seek early assistance and intervention. The Police continued to improve measures for tackling domestic violence. To engage domestic violence cases at early stage to prevent them from escalating, officers underwent special training to be more effective in dealing with domestic violence. In addition, a Central Domestic Violence Database is being developed to give frontline officers a fuller picture of offenders, or potential offenders so that preventive action can be taken before violence occurs. The database is expected to go into operation in 2008. Commercial Crime The Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) continued to implement a structured intelligence-based approach in carrying out investigations into syndicated and serious frauds, counterfeit and forgery cases, as well as technology crimes. In 2007, incidents of serious fraud, counterfeit currencies and credit card usage were kept at reasonably low levels. Offences perpetrated by street deception gangs, especially so-called ‘spiritual blessing’ deception, declined throughout the year. The combined effect of keeping an eye on suspects, extensive publicity campaigns and heavier penalties imposed on these street gangs resulted in a rise in detection and a drop in reported losses in 2007.