PUBLIC ORDER
Community Relations
Rising juvenile crime was a major subject in the 1990–91 Fight Crime Campaign.
Particular emphasis was placed on the consequences of a criminal record which could affect the future of a young person. At the same time, the role of parents was highlighted, the message being that they share some of the responsibility. To convey these points, television and radio Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs) were used.
As part of the juvenile and youth crime publicity campaign, a Fight Crime comic booklet aiming at youngsters aged 10 to 14 years was published to provide healthy reading material for the target group.
For the 14 to 20 age group, a 'Help the Police Fight Youth Crime' competition was organised. Five winners were awarded a 19-day visit to the United Kingdom during which they were granted an audience with Her Royal Highness the Princess Alexandra who in her capacity as Honorary Commandant General of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force expresses a personal interest in police youth activities.
Another theme for the Fight Crime Campaign was home security, with special attention paid to burglary prevention. Statistics on home burglary cases indicate that a significant percentage of them occurred as a result of carelessness on the part of the occupants. Publicity was therefore pitched to stress the need to lock up properly before leaving home.
To further spread these messages to the general public, the support of the District Fight Crime Committee was solicited. With government subsidies, districts were encouraged to organise local events on topics of parental care and home security. These provided a strong base of community support for the Fight Crime Campaign.
Members of the public were also encouraged to help in the Fight Crime Campaign in the form of the Good Citizen Award and Good Citizen of The Year Award Schemes. The two schemes, which are financially supported by business organisations, give recognition to citizens who have made an outstanding contribution towards fighting against crime either by assisting in the arrest of a criminal or in the prevention of a crime. In 1990, 81 people received the Good Citizen Award.
The Junior Police Call (JPC), established in 1974, continued to prosper and is now the largest youth organisation in Hong Kong. Up to the present, over half a million young people have participated in the scheme which means that one in every seven people in Hong Kong is currently or has been a member.
JPC provides its members with healthy recreational pursuits as well as involving them in a wide variety of community services. To commemorate the outstanding performance of JPC members in community service, an award scheme, sponsored by a leading bank, is held annually to select the best member, leader, council and school club.
The Mini-Olympics, an annual JPC sports festival, encourages healthy competition in swimming, basketball, football, table-tennis and athletics. The ninth JPC Summer Youth Camp was again held at the YMCA Youth Village at Wu Kai Sha in August with 700 residential campers and 800 day campers taking part. The camp formed part of the 1990 Summer Youth Programme and the theme was Fight Youth Crime.
Four regular television programmes jointly produced by the Police Public Relations Branch and Radio Television Hong Kong continued to enjoy good audience ratings: Crime Watch, a monthly programme presented on the Chinese channels of both stations, features reconstructions of unsolved crimes and seeks assistance from the public through the use of telephone hotlines; Police 15, a 15-minute programme and Police Report, a 5-minute
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