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The overall law and order situation in the first six months of 2010 was relatively stable with decreases recorded in the overall crime and violent crime figures, according to the Police Director of Crime and Security, Mr Tang Kam-moon.
Speaking at a press conference today (August 4) to review the crime situation in the territory between January and June this year, Mr Tang said that during the period, a total of 37,726 crime cases were recorded, representing a decrease by 3.2 per cent when compared with the same period last year.
There were a total of 6,875 violent crime cases recorded in the first half of this year, a drop by 3.8 per cent when compared with the corresponding period last year.
Based on the number of cases, Mr Tang pointed out that the top three categories of violent crimes were serious assault (2,640 cases), criminal intimidation (1,161 cases) and wounding (956 cases).
"The total number of serious assault and wounding cases in the first six months this year was 3,596, a decrease of 7.4 per cent when compared with the same period last year," said Mr Tang, adding that about 73.5 per cent of these cases was caused by various disputes, whilst domestic violence cases accounted for 17.1 per cent and triad related ones accounted for 7.1 per cent.
With respect to criminal intimidation cases, a total of 1,161 cases were recorded in the first six months of this year, a decrease of 1.1 per cent when compared with the corresponding period last year. Among them, 27.1 per cent of the cases were related to domestic violence, 20.4 per cent were related to debt collection and 3.7 per cent were trial related.
Turning to homicide cases, Mr Tang said that homicide cases were down from 27 to 17 during the first half of 2010, representing a 37 per cent drop. A matter of concern was 12 or 70.6 per cent of the homicide cases were related to the killing of family members or relatives.
Mr Tang also pointed out that the number of robbery cases was 379 (down 11.9 per cent) in the first six months of this year. This is the lowest figure since the handover of sovereignty in 1997 and there was no cases involving genuine firearms.
He said that during the first half of this year, a total of 922 cases related to triad offences were recorded, a drop of 17.5 per cent. Triad related cases accounted for 2.4 per cent of the overall crime figure.
"Police take very seriously triad-related crimes and have adopted a comprehensive strategy in combating triad-related personalities and their activities. The ratio of triad-related crimes to overall crime has been controlled at a low level, which has dropped from the peak level of 3.9 per cent in 1997 to the current level of 2.4 per cent."
"Quick Cash" crimes totalled 15,800 cases, a slight increase of 0.8 per cent in the first half of this year. The increase was mainly due to the rise in pickpocketing and miscellaneous theft, which increased by 44.6 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.
The increase in pickpocketing cases was attributable to the increasing number of tourists visiting Hong Kong and the increasing flow of people in shops and public areas. The Police have strengthened publicity in crime prevention and enhanced patrols at black spots.
Turning to sexual offences, Mr Tang said that a rise was recorded in violent sexual crimes, including rape and indecent assault, in the first half of 2010. There were 54 rape cases, an increase by two cases when compared with the same period last year.
A total of 775 cases of indecent assault were recorded in the first half of this year, a rise by 19.8 per cent or 128 cases as compared with the same period of 2009.
Mr Tang said that during the period there were eight rape cases and 16 indecent assaults where victims got to know the offenders through internet activities. The figures were the same and down by 10 cases respectively when compared with eight and 26 cases in the same period last year.
"In this regard, the Police will spare no effort in publicising against computer crimes to prevent victims from falling prey to acquaintances they meet on-line," he said.
"Targeting sexual offences related to making friends on-line, Police have produced a set of instructional materials for use in secondary school seminars, where students are reminded of points to note when making friends on-line, including the possibility of property loss or sexual abuse," he added.
To effectively combat unlawful off-course betting activities during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Police had formed a special group co-ordinated by the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau to devise operational plans for foiling illegal soccer betting and co-ordinating anti-illegal soccer betting tasks of all units.
Successful Police actions against illegal off-course betting activities during the Soccer World Cup netted a total of 235 persons who were involved in illegal betting worth HK$361 million. When compared to the last World Cup in 2006, there was an increase of 39 persons arrested and HK$ 286.5 million of illegal betting records seized.
Regarding the fight against trafficking and abuse of dangerous drugs, Mr Tang said that this was the first time in recent years that saw a drop in serious narcotics offences. In the first six months of this year, a total of 1,133 serious narcotics cases were recorded and 1,500 persons were arrested for serious narcotics offences, a drop of 25.9 and 22.7 per cent respectively when compared with the same period last year.
"Cases involving psychotropic drugs decreased by 27.5 per cent, with Ketamine decreased by 27.1 per cent and heroin dropped by 18.9 per cent," he said.
As to youth drug problem, 396 youngsters were arrested for serious narcotics offences in the first six months of this year, a drop of 35 per cent as compared with the same period last year. Over 90 per cent of them were involved in psychotropic drugs.
It is worth noting that besides the significant decrease in the number of youngsters arrested for serious narcotics offences, 680 youngsters were arrested for all narcotics offences in the first six months of this year, a decrease of 342 persons or 33.5 per cent as compared with the same period last year.
In view of the abundant supply of dangerous drugs in the global market as well as the existing demand in Hong Kong, Police will focus on combating drug related crimes, in particular youth drug abuse, in the second half of the year.
In the first half of 2010, the number of domestic violence crime cases was 1,105, representing a drop of 7.4 per cent as compared with the same period last year.
Mr Tang said that Police believed that early identification of problematic families, early intervention, timely support and appropriate referrals are the most effective ways in dealing with domestic violence.
Although the overall domestic violence related crime cases were on the decrease in the first half of 2010, the recent murder cases arising from domestic violence had attracted public attention. Police will continue to adopt a multi-departmental and multi-discipline approach to early identify families that have problems in order to refer them to relevant department and professional bodies for assistance and support services.
Police Report No. 3
Ends/Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Issued at HKT 23:04
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