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PUBLIC ORDER
In addition to the established weekly Police Report programmes shown on television that seek information which might help to solve outstanding crimes, a Chinese television drama series of 13 half-hour episodes was produced. The series, depicting various aspects of a police constable's daily life and work, received acclaim for its factual presentation.
The 1979 community relations programme included the fourth Young People's Help the Police Competition, aimed at fostering good relationships between the younger generation and the police. The four winners will visit New Zealand for two weeks in early 1980 as guests of the New Zealand Police Force.
Complaints Against Police Office
Members of the public are able to register complaints about police procedures or mis- conduct through the Complaints Against Police Office which has premises on both sides of Victoria Harbour. The office is responsible for the investigation of all allegations of mis- conduct by police officers including those which involve criminal offences.
The UMELCO Police Complaints Group, set up in 1977, reviews the handling of these complaints. This group comprises six unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils, the Attorney General and two senior police officers, with the administrative secretary of the UMELCO Office and a police officer serving as joint secretaries.
Traffic
The number of vehicles registered in Hong Kong rose to 262,000 in 1979. This gives a traffic density of 228 vehicles for each of the 1,146 kilometres of road in the territory, resulting in heavy congestion and associated parking and control problems.
The number of traffic accidents recorded in 1979 totalled 15,196, with 458 people killed and 19,480 injured. This was an 0.5 per cent decrease against the number of accidents recorded in 1978. Greater emphasis is being placed on accident reduction through research and identifying the underlying causes of accidents so that steps can be taken to make the roads safer.-
The opening of the first stage of the Mass Transit Railway marked the culmination of more than three years of work in the field of traffic management. This involved the planning of hundreds of traffic diversions and the continuous monitoring of construction work.
The computer-based Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance was revised in July. While the basic system of traffic enforcement remained the same, certain modifica- tions were introduced including scheduled defences, and provision for issuing distress warrants to deal with defaulters with large arrears in debts, without the prerequisite of seizing their vehicles. Selective action under this ordinance continued against the more serious obstructions caused by motor vehicles on main roads and indiscriminate roadside parking and stopping. Because of the ever-increasing number of vehicles on the roads, and the consequent greater pressure on scarce parking space, it was found necessary, in the interests of road safety and to keep traffic flowing, to issue 1,175,273 fixed penalty parking tickets. This was an increase of 19.5 per cent over 1978. Action was taken to recover un- paid fixed penalty debts, resulting in the seizure of 13 vehicles in 1979. Forty vehicles were auctioned to meet outstanding debts during the year.
The number of moving traffic offences reported during the year by fixed penalty tickets under the computer-based Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance was 244,671 – a 14.3 per cent increase over the previous year's total.