PUBLIC ORDER
139
containing for the first time unofficial members. The Committee is responsible for instructing the Director of the Anti-Corruption Office on which complaints are to be investigated and the priorities allocated to these investigations. Under the old Anti-Corruption Ordinance, 140 people were taken to court and 90 were dealt with by government departments in the six years from 1963 to 1968; in the following two years, 138 people were taken to court and 89 were dealt with by government departments.
Traffic
Congestion on the roads increases each year and traffic control continues to be one of the Colony's major problems. The number of vehicles on our 618 miles of road at the end of 1971 was 164,378, giving a density of 266 vehicles per mile. New roads and car parks are being constructed, but vehicle registration is increasing at the rate of 14 per cent per year and new projects cannot match this
} pace.
The Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance was in- troduced in September. Under this ordinance parking and other such traffic violations are no longer regarded as criminal offences, but when a motorist contravenes any of its provisions, he becomes liable for a fixed penalty of $30. This sum may be paid by post or in person at various centres listed on the parking ticket; if not paid, it may be recovered through the courts as a civil debt to the Crown. The person liable to pay the fixed penalty is the registered owner of the vehicle, regardless of who was in charge of it at the time. This simplified procedure appears to be appreciated by the motoring public.
Radar continued to be used actively in the detection of speeding offenders. During the year a total of 12,449 speeding cases were reported, of which 7,467 ended in court.
As part of its safety drive the Road Safety Section distributed 142,400 leaflets and delivered lectures to an estimated 840,000 school children besides conducting a number of campaigns in conjunction with Kaifong Associations and other organisations.
Administration
In June it was announced that the term of office of the Commis- sioner, Mr C. P. Sutcliffe, had been extended for a further two years until May 1974.
During 1971 the Royal Hong Kong Police made steady progress in planning, initiating and completing a number of important