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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 20 January 1988
the estates and finally these young people become criminals. Can the Government inform the Council whether it is aware of such a situation and what measures have been considered to improve the situation?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Yes, Sir, we are acutely conscious that this, in fact, is what is going on. The police are careful in their patrols of housing estates; social workers also are well aware of the importance of looking after these young children; the Housing Authority and the Housing Department also are well aware of the problem and they are doing everything they possibly can to keep this sort of activity down to a minimum.
MRS. TAM (in Cantonese): Sir, the statistics show that there is an increase in juvenile crimes. Can the Government inform this Council when the authorities concerned will conduct another survey on the reasons for this so that proper remedial measures can be taken? If this has not been considered, why?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Sir, we are all constantly on the lookout to try and find what the causes of people turning to crime are. It is a notoriously tricky area and the Research Sub-Committee of the Fight Crime Committee has done a considerable amount of work on this particular aspect. One of the most important factors seems to be whether or not at least one of the parents is available during the day to look after the children. Split families tend to divide and force children into crime. Another important factor is the education system, in particular, the extent to which children are for half a day left free to roam around because they are attending a morning session or an afternoon session, so in the other half of the day they are free to do what they like and they have no family at home because the family is working, and they end up on the streets and they end up going into department stores and pinching stuff off the shelves. It is a very, very complicated business, but I can assure my hon. Friend that we are constantly working at it and wherever we find areas where we can provide or suggest possible solutions, then we go ahead and try and implement those solutions and see if they work.
Measures to improve traffic flow before the completion of Tate's Cairn Tunnel
8. MISS TAM asked: Will Government inform this Council what measures will be taken to improve traffic flow and the movement of commuters between New Territories east, along the Kowloon-Canton Railway, and Kowloon before the completion of the Tate's Cairn Tunnel, and how these measures reconcile with the projected demand as a result of population increase?
SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT: Sir, I take it that Miss TAM's question on New Territories east actually refers to the north-east New Territories where the major new towns are located. Their population is estimated to increase from the