known brothels and massage parlours have closed, and operatives are now attempting to avoid police action by running 'escort services' from which customers hire out girls and subsequently make their own arrangements re- garding prostitution, usually in an apartment house. Many dance halls and music parlours are also changing their method of operation and are attempting to become night clubs or private clubs. The organised showing of 'blue movies' has now ceased, but the occasional seizure of pornographic films and literature is still made. During the year, production centre for pornographic films was put out of business.
Despite the introduction of new legislation with more severe penalties, gambling still continues. The old style casinos are now rare, and the remnants of old syndicates are attempting to by-pass the law by organising games in restaurants, usually outside normal business hours, in order to take advantage of the new provisions of the Gambl- ing Ordinance which concern gambling on social occasions and/or in licensed premises. Nonetheless, successful action against gambling has continued and organised gambling has become fragmented.
The new Tsim Sha Tsui station, to be located at the junction of Nathan Road and Austin Road, is due for com- pletion in March 1980, but the new Yau Ma Tei sub-divisional station, at the junction of Waterloo Road and Reclamation Street, remains in the planning stage.
Mong Kok Division
Mong Kok Division covers an area of approximately two-thirds of a square mile with an estimated population of some 350,000 persons, and being a business and enter- tainment centre of Kowloon, contains a considerable amount of wealth. This presents an attractive target to criminals, and the main task of the division is the protec- tion of this wealth, and the constant battle against serious crime. The incidence of crime during the year was 4,927 while the detection rate was 69.8 per cent.
Combined CID/UB and CID/PTU anti-crime opera- tions were mounted, aimed primarily at haunts of triads and other dubious characters. The deterrent effect of these operations is considerable.
Burglary remains the greatest crime problem. The total figure for this year is 362 compared with 420 for 1976. With the assistance of the district's Burglary Unit, the detection rate has been improved considerably.
Action against vice establishments continues at a high level. The overt operations of large unlicensed massage establishments posing as beauty shops have been eliminated. Apartment house and ‘escort' companies continued to be the basis for organised prostitution and there is a new tendency for clubs and entertainment establishments with liquor licences to operate as dance halls.
Narcotics do not pose a serious problem with no major syndicates operating in Mong Kok. Pressure is maintained by the Special Duty Squad and Uniform Branch and CID duties on possible street-selling activities in areas frequented by drug addicts.
Casino-type gambling operations have largely been eliminated. However, as elsewhere, astute operators are exploiting the loopholes in the new Gambling Ordinance and are using restaurants and premises registered as clubs, or associations, as bases for their operations. Successful
raids have been carried out against this type of activity, but, the problem remains. 'Tse Fa' has disappeared com- pletely with the introduction of the Mark Six Lottery.
Tai Kok Tsui
The Tai Kok Tsui Community Policing Unit was estab- lished in June. The area involved is bounded by Boundary Street, Tong Mei Road, Cherry Street and the waterfront area. It consists of approximately one third of the Mong Kok area.
The
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purposes of this unit are to:
Help reduce the level of crime in the area through joint police/community involvement.
Establish good police/public relations, bridging the gap.
Foster the community spirit in an anti-crime con- text by policing the area with the same personnel over an extended period of time.
The Unit can be divided into four separate categories:
Uniform beat patrols
Uniform high-rise patrols
CID contingent
Police community relations section. The breakdown of strength is:
Uniform Branch 1 SIP/IP 1 S/Sgt
4 Sgts
25 PCs
Police Community Relations Section
Auxiliary
CID
1 W/Sgt
1 SIP/IP
1 SIP/IP
2 Sgts
16 PCs
2 D/Sgts 8 DCs
5 WPCs
An impressive Good Citizen Award presentation ceremony was held at the MacPherson Playground on the evening of November 4. This event was jointly organised by the Force, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and Rediffusion Television Limited. A total of 55 citizens were given awards following recommendations by the Force for their conscientious contribution to the fight against crime. Rediffusion Television Limited, besides providing stage performances to entertain the receipients and the public, also presented special golden whistles to five selected winners.
This was the year when police recruiting went to the people. Locality drives such as this one involved entertainment shows in support of informative career booths and displays.
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