10
Public Order
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WITH the Royal Hong Kong Police Force now having more manpower than ever before, 1976 saw a drop in crimes of violence while an increased number of other types of crime were detected or prevented.
The police are mainly responsible for the maintenance of public order, but equally important contributions towards the safety and wellbeing of the community are also made by the fire and ambulance services, the Prisons Department, the Preven- tive Service officers who deal with smuggling and illicit drug trafficking, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption. All help to preserve a standard of order which enables more than four million people to live together in such a relatively small space.
Police
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A successful recruitment campaign launched in May resulted in the police force achieving a strength of 16,234 disciplined personnel and 3,067 civilian officers-the greatest number so far in the development of the force. The increased manpower assisted in the restructuring and reinforcement of the Criminal Investigation Depart- ment and the provision of more neighbourhood police units and reporting centres in the urban areas.
Towards the end of the year, the force began using its new command and control system the most modern and effective police radio system available. It is based on a radio network which, when it is fully operational in 1977, will provide some 1,600 beat patrol personnel with personal radios.
Public requests for police assistance throughout the year totalled 222,723—an average of 610 a day. This is an increase of 8.3 per cent over 1975. About 17 per cent of the requests were connected with crime, reflecting the improved reporting facilities and procedures now available.
Crime
The number of reported crimes of violence in 1976, excluding multiple charges of blackmail, decreased by 10.8 per cent compared with the previous year. There were 16,436 cases a drop of 1,987. Contributing to this decrease was a 20 per cent fall in robberies-from 11,120 cases to 8,895.
Conversely, the number of reported crimes entailing police preventive action— crimes such as being equipped for stealing, loitering, or possessing offensive weapons --and also crimes of extortion and narcotics trafficking increased significantly as a result of greater police action in these fields. There were 9,197 charges of blackmail