PUBLIC ORDER
Traffic
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Expertise in traffic accident investigation was enhanced by the introduction of training in accident reconstruction techniques for police officers. The accent on road safety was maintained with an emphasis on pedestrian behaviour and vehicle maintenance.
Traffic conditions improved generally, following the opening of the Mass Transit Railway Island Line, which had an immediate effect on commuter traffic on Hong Kong Island. Several new, high capacity road networks were completed and these also added to the improved traffic flow throughout the territory.
Road traffic accidents continued to decrease, underlining the benefits of earlier legislative changes providing for enforcement of various accident control measures. Associated with these measures was the compulsory wearing of front seat belts in private cars. On December 31, provisional figures showed that the total number of accidents dropped by 206, with 303 fatalities and 19 406 persons injured.
Community and Media Relations
The 1985 Fight Crime Campaign, again using the theme 'Police and the People Fighting Crime Together', was one of the most intensive publicity programmes ever mounted by the Police Public Relations Branch. Messages aimed at arousing public awareness of crime pre- vention methods, and emphasising the importance of fighting crime in conjunction with the police, were generated through a broad range of activities at both regional and district levels. A total of five television commercials were produced to advise the public on ways of protecting life and property by taking simple, sensible and inexpensive crime prevention measures. These were shown 682 times on all four Chinese and English television channels. Press releases in support of the campaign were also issued through the PPRB's Information Bureau.-
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A territory-wide Neighbourhood Watch scheme was introduced in 80 public and private housing blocks to counter the increasing number of burglaries in residential buildings. The scheme was first tried - on an experimental basis - in housing blocks in Sha Tin and Kwai Chung in the New Territories. Under the scheme, which will be further expanded, people in selected areas are encouraged to band together to heighten individual awareness of security risks and, having regard for each other's property, to act to deter would-be criminals. This initiative was launched by the police in conjunction with the Fight Crime Committee.
Apart from the work of the Fight Crime Committee and the District Fight Crime Committees, the Police Community Relations Officer Scheme, the Good Citizen Award Scheme and the Junior Police Call (JPC), also contributed much to improve police-public co-operation and goodwill. Their efforts were well reflected by the number of citizens' arrests, which stood at 14.16 per cent of all arrests for the year.
Junior Police Call, which was first launched in 1974 to provide both the incentive and opportunity for young people to assist the police in reducing crime, has become the largest organisation of its kind in the world. In July, nine-year-old Lee Kin-man became the 400 000th young person to enrol in JPC and, at the end of the year, membership stood at 415 300 - an increase of 29 800 over the previous year. JPC members have also expanded their scope of activity from participation in fight crime campaigns to social, cultural and sporting functions. In addition, they were more than willing to help the less privileged, the elderly and the handicapped.
Early in the year, thousands of JPC members braved bleak weather to complete a charity walk or to sell flags on the streets to raise a total of $200,000 for drought disaster victims in Ethiopia. Among many other JPC activities was a five-day summer camp at Wu Kai Sha