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robberies and crimes committed against the person'. The number of murders committed totalled 98; an increase of 27 over 1970. Another worrying trend was the increasing numbers of juveniles and young people involved in crimes of violence.
The first of a series of police posts in resettlement estates was opened at Tsz Wan Shan in May. Other posts are planned for Lam Tin, Lo Fu Ngam, Ngau Tau Kok, Sau Mau Ping and Shek Lei. Building projects completed in 1971 included a block of 48 flats for married inspectors on Hong Kong Island, and alterations to the Harbour Police Station at Tsim Sha Tsui. Construction work and planning for a number of other new buildings continued. At the end of the year there were 48 police projects in the Public Works Programme.
A new Marine Police Division, covering Lantau and the neigh- bouring islands of Cheung Chau, Peng Chau, Lamma, Shek Kwu Chau and the Sokos, was formed in November and named Islands Division. The Marine Police brought into service three new 40-foot boats towards the end of the year and orders were also placed for seven 78-foot boats which are to be delivered during 1972.
In 1971 the Police Public Information Bureau, operating on a 24-hour basis, handled thousands of press enquiries, arranged a number of conferences and facilities for the press and answered 296 letters which appeared in both English and Chinese news- papers. Releases concerning crime prevention and road safety advice were also issued regularly.
The total number of crimes reported to the police was 32,461, an increase of 3,409 or 11.7 per cent, over 1970. Of these, 24,840 were detected, giving an overall detection rate of 76.5 per cent compared with 76.6 per cent in 1970. The number of adult offend- ers (16 years and over) was 15,294 people and the number of juvenile offenders (under 16 years) was 1,645. Compared with last year's figures, the number of adults prosecuted increased from 13,901 to 15,294, and the number of juveniles fell from 1,652 to 1,645.
A total of 429 juvenile first offenders were treated as discretion cases and referred to the Juvenile Protection Office for follow up action. Of these, only 23 were subsequently found to have commit- ted further offences. This compared favourably with results achieved in 1970.
The Commercial Crime Office, besides investigating a number of complicated long-term frauds, increased its efforts and modernised its techniques to cope with the marked improvement in the quality