LCQ20: Police committed to combating sexual offences
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Question:
There were respectively 56 and 916 reported cases of rape and indecent assault (sex crimes) in the first ten months of 2017, or a growth of 9.8 per cent and 9.2 per cent respectively as compared with the figures in the same period in 2016. On curbing sex crimes, will the Government inform this Council, in the past five years:
(1) of the (i) number of reported cases, (ii) detection rate and (iii) number of convictions in respect of sex crimes, as well as the respective numbers of black spots of sex crimes in various District Council districts each year;
(2) whether the Police rolled out new measures to curb sex crimes, such as stepping up patrols at black spots of sex crimes and raising the alertness of the public by enhancing publicity efforts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) whether all victims of sex crimes were assigned police officers of the same sex to conduct interviews with them and take statements from them; if not, of the reasons for that; whether there is currently a sufficient number of female police officers on duty at each police station to conduct interviews with and take statements from female victims of sex crimes; and
(4) whether the Police stepped up training for police officers in light of the latest trend in sex crimes; if so, of the details (including the number of officers who received training each year); if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will consider step up training?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the Hon Jimmy Ng's question is as follows:
(1) In respect of every case involving sexual offences, the Police spare no effort in investigations. In the past five years (2013 to October 2017), the detection rate for rape cases was around 95 per cent whilst that for indecent assault cases was around 75 per cent. After arrests of the suspects, the Police will comprehensively consider such factors as the case circumstances, the statements from victims and witnesses, whether there is any corroborative evidence assisting the court in determining the reliability of the evidence, including closed-circuit television images, forensic examination findings and victims' medical reports, and consult the Department of Justice for advice when necessary before prosecutions.
The numbers of rape and indecent assault cases received by the Police in the past five years are tabulated below:
| Number of cases | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 (January to October) |
| Rape (Note 1) | 105 | 56 | 70 | 71 | 56 |
| Indecent assault (Note 2) |
1 463 | 1 115 | 1 068 | 1 019 | 916 |
Note 1: For rape cases received by the Police, the eventual charges laid depend on the case circumstances and the evidence obtained. Besides rape (section 118) under the Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200), other possible charges include intercourse with girl under 16 (section 124 of the Crimes Ordinance), indecent assault (section 122 of the Crimes Ordinance).
Note 2: For indecent assault cases received by the Police, the eventual charges laid depend on the case circumstances and the evidence obtained. Besides indecent assault (section 122) under the Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200), other possible charges include indecent conduct towards child under 16 (section 146 of the Crimes Ordinance), common assault (common law offence).
The numbers of persons arrested, prosecuted and convicted for the offences of rape and indecent assault under the Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200) in the past five years are tabulated below:
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 (January to September) |
|
| Rape (section 118 of the Crimes Ordinance) | |||||
| Number of persons arrested | 106 | 62 | 70 | 65 | 43 |
| Number of persons prosecuted | 62 | 43 | 33 | 29 | 19 |
| Number of persons convicted | 18 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 10 |
| Indecent assault (section 122 of the Crimes Ordinance) | |||||
| Number of persons arrested | 959 | 798 | 782 | 757 | 592 |
| Number of persons prosecuted | 570 | 473 | 399 | 388 | 288 |
| Number of persons convicted | 376 | 328 | 275 | 272 | 207 |
Note: As the years of arrest, prosecution and conclusion of the respective cases represented by the figures above may be different, the three sets of figures concerning the number of persons arrested, the number of persons prosecuted and the number of persons convicted cannot be compared directly.
The Police do not maintain other information requested in this part of the question.
(2) to (4) The Police are very concerned with sex crimes and make all efforts to investigate each case. There were a total of 56 rape cases in Hong Kong in the first ten months in 2017. Among them, 51 cases were detected and the detection rate was 91 per cent. In October 2017 alone, all eight rape cases were detected. As for indecent assault cases, the Police found that many of them occurred in public places, aboard public transport and at stations. There were a total of 916 indecent assault cases in Hong Kong in the first ten months in 2017, representing a decrease of over 10 per cent as compared with the average number of cases in the same period in the past five years. Among them, 705 cases were detected and the detection rate was 77 per cent.
The Police will continue to step up patrol by uniformed and plain-clothes officers and work closely with public transport utilities to jointly combat these offences. The Police will also enhance publicity and education, including raising public vigilance and encouraging victims to report crimes through the Police's online platform. For example, during the summer holidays and before the Christmas and New Year holidays in 2017, the Police organised anti-crime sharing sessions for over 600 members of the public and young people in Kwai Tsing, Yuen Long, Western and Yau Tsim Police Districts to raise public vigilance against crimes (including sex crimes) and encouraged the public to make a report as soon as possible if they encounter crimes. In addition, Cheung Chau Division organised a thematic seminar on Prevention of Sexual Abuse for over 200 young people in the division to enhance their awareness against sexual abuse.
Furthermore, the Police attach great importance to officers' professional ability to handle sexual offence cases. To fully equip officers with the skills and knowledge in handling these cases, the Police College and its Detective Training Centre have incorporated relevant topics (including sexual violence cases, Victims Charter, psychological skills in handling victims, empathetic listening skills, conflict management and violent behaviour and ways to handle it) into various regular courses. These regular courses include foundation training course for recruit constables, foundation training course for probationary inspectors, development courses, promotion courses and criminal investigation courses. In addition, the Police have also incorporated such topics as professional sensitivity required for handling victims of abuse and sexual violence cases into the contents of on-the-job trainings. The Police do not maintain statistics on the number of officers who have received relevant training each year.
In the investigation of sexual violence cases, the Police will adopt various measures to ensure that the rights and safety of victims are duly protected. The Police have put in place a series of relevant procedures and guidelines and will review and update them at suitable times.
To ensure that the rights and privacy of a victim of sexual crime are properly taken care of, the Police will arrange for a police officer of the same gender of the victim with relevant training to interview and take statement from the victim as soon as practicable.
The Police will also, having regard to the circumstances, provide "one-stop" service to the victim to reduce the stress borne by the victim while assisting investigation. With the victim's consent, the Police will arrange for the victim to give statement and receive forensic examination in the public hospital in which he/she receives treatment as far as practicable, so as to save the victim from the plight of travelling and speed up the investigation process. The victim may, at his/her own wish, choose to be accompanied by social workers or other suitable persons when he/she is interviewed by police officers or receives forensic examination. The investigating officer will also refer the victim to the Social Welfare Department or other agencies for supporting services having regard to the circumstances of the case and the victim's wish.
The Police will ensure that there is adequate manpower and will handle seriously all sex crimes with sensitivity for the purposes of protecting the victims from further sufferings and bringing the offenders to justice.
Ends/Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Issued at HKT 17:07
Issued at HKT 17:07
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