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The overall law and order situation in Hong Kong remained stable in 2010 with a drop of 2.1 per cent in the overall crime, according to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Tsang Wai-hung.
Speaking at a press conference today (January 26) to review the crime situation in Hong Kong last year, Mr Tsang said that during the period, a total of 75,965 cases of crime were recorded, representing a drop of 2.1 per cent when compared with 77,630 cases in 2009.
The detection rate was 42.8 per cent, a decrease of 2.8 per cent when compared with the preceding year.
There were a total of 13,546 cases of violent crime recorded last year, a drop of 4.6 per cent when compared with 14,193 cases in 2009.
Noting that most categories of crimes recorded a fall, Mr Tsang said the crimes with the number of cases on the rise included deception (up 10.2 per cent), pickpocketing (up 29.4 per cent), miscellaneous theft (up 2.2 per cent), and indecent assault (up 9.9 per cent).
"A total of 5,652 cases of deception were registered in 2010, being an increase of 522 cases or 10.2 per cent when compared with the previous year.
"Increase was seen in common deception cases such as telephone deception and street deception. While there was a rise in the number of telephone deception cases by 523 when compared with 2009, a significant growth was registered particularly in the fourth quarter of 2010, which was attributable to a new modus operandi known as 'Guess Who I am'," he said.
Mr Tsang noted that despite the rise in the number of telephone deceptions in 2010, the loss involved saw a decrease by $3.77 million or 12.8 per cent, with the amount in the majority of ˇĄGuess Who am Iˇ¦ cases less than $30,000. Moreover, over 70 per cent of swindlers failed in their crime attempts.
A total of 1,400 pickpocketing cases were also recorded in 2010, an increase of 318 cases or 29.4 per cent when compared with 2009. Police would continue to deploy experienced officers to pickpocketing black spots. Anti-pickpocketing publicity would also be enhanced to remind the public and visitors to remain vigilant and to take care of their personal belongings, especially in crowded areas.
Miscellaneous thefts increased by 418 cases to 19 058 cases in 2010, a rise of 2.2 per cent when compared with the previous year. The increase was related to the rise in metal theft and theft related to cases which ATM users forgot to collect withdrawals from ATM.
As regards indecent assault, 1,448 cases were recorded in 2010, representing a rise of 130 cases or 9.9 per cent when compared with the previous year. About 19.5 per cent of those cases were related to public transport.
The Police would continue to fight against these types of illegal acts and to enhance public awareness via publicity campaigns, especially in the vicinity of MTR platforms during peak hours.
Mr Tsang also pointed out that crimes such as serious drug offences (down 25 per cent), shop theft (down 5.9 per cent), serious assault (down 9.1 per cent) and missing motor vehicles (down 13.9 per cent) all recorded a decrease.
During the year, there were a total of 2,196 serious drug offences, a drop of 733 cases when compared with the preceding year. A total of 2,953 persons were arrested, a decrease of 744 persons when compared with 2009. The total number of students arrested was 128, also down by 106.
There were 1,870 cases involving psychotropic drugs, making up 85.2 per cent of the overall serious drug cases. Those cases involving ketamine had the largest share of 63.9 per cent in cases involving psychotropic drugs.
"Since the majority of local drug supplies are imported, we will continue to work closely with Mainland and overseas anti-drug law enforcement agencies to intercept drugs at their origins, and strengthen joint enforcement actions with the Customs and Excise Department.
"Internally, Narcotics Bureau will co-ordinate intelligence-led operations against drug trafficking activities. Particular attention will be paid to the supply of dangerous drugs to the minors or minors being used in drug trafficking activities," Mr Tsang said.
The Commissioner also took the opportunity to talk about homicide, robbery, domestic violence crimes and juvenile crimes.
There were a total of 35 homicides reported in 2010, a decrease of 12 cases when compared with 2009. Thirty-two cases were detected, representing a detection rate of 91.4 per cent.
The bulk of these cases were either domestic violence or relative related. Twenty-four of the detected cases revealed that the culprits knew the victims.
"Homicide cases are serious and of our greatest concern. Police will strive our all-out efforts by deploying adequate resources and conducting thorough and multilateral investigations with a view to swiftly bringing offenders to justice," Mr Tsang said.
A total of 778 robbery cases were recorded in 2010, a 10.6 per cent decrease when compared with 2009. The figure of 2010 was the lowest since 1969.
Mr Tsang said most of the robberies in the year were committed by lone culprits, which reflected that they were not organised and were believed to be individual incidents. Police would continue to maintain strong police presence in combating robbery, particularly at high-risk locations.
The number of criminal domestic violence cases recorded in 2010 was 2,157, a drop of 216 cases or 9.1 per cent when compared with 2,373 cases in 2009. These cases were mostly triggered by disputes over money and relationships.
Turning to juvenile crimes, Mr Tsang said that there were 3,576 juveniles (aged 10 to 15) and 4,255 young persons (aged 16 to 20) arrested for crimes in 2010, with the total number being 7,831, a decrease of 859 or 9.9 per cent when compared with 2009.
"The crimes committed by them were mainly miscellaneous thefts, shop theft, wounding/serious assaults and serious drug offences," he added.
Mr Tsang also took the opportunity to introduce the Force Operational Priorities for this year, namely violent crime; triads, syndicated and organised crime; dangerous drugs; quick cash crime; public safety ˇV including road safety; and terrorism.
In addressing violent crime and quick cash crime, Mr Tsang said Police would maintain a strong police presence and carry out intelligence-led operations to target criminals and street gangs.
"The Force will also continue its efforts in targeting triad personalities, and syndicated and organised crime activities at local level, cross-boundary and internationally," he said.
To combat dangerous drug offences, Police would continue to cooperate with other law enforcement agencies to interdict illicit drug flow into Hong Kong. A multi-agency and community-based approach would be adopted to promote awareness and to prevent psychotropic drug abuse.
In addition, the Force would continue to professionally risk-assess and manage public order events to ensure public order and public safety.
Efforts would further be made to deter drink driving, drug driving, speeding and illegal road racing, as well as to monitor terrorist trends and maintain a high-level of counter-terrorism readiness through regular training and multi-agency exercises.
"In the coming year, Police will continue with its quality service orientation. We will maintain high visibility, high profile policing for robust and immediate emergency and tactical response. We will also maintain community partnership and focus, and professional ethics," Mr Tsang concluded.
Also attending the press conference were the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Mr Tang Kam-moon, and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Management), Mr Lee Ka-chiu.
Police Report No. 13
Ends/Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Issued at HKT 20:06
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