PUBLIC ORDER
276
During the year, the laboratory was heavily engaged in the scientific investigation of such diverse crimes as homicide, sexual offences, arson, robbery, forgery of documents, illegal manufacture and possession of drugs and pharmaceutical preparations under the Antibiotics Ordinance, the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance and the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance.
These services are grouped into two main areas. One deals with presumptive (opinion) scientific evidence which is labour-intensive in nature and concerns the examination of handwriting, questioned documents and trace materials such as bloodstains, paint fragments and clothing fibres. The other area concerns drugs and forensic toxicology, and deals with definitive (statutory) scientific evidence which tends to be method-intensive with a high potential for automated instrumentation.
The importance of traffic accident reconstruction has been fully recognised in courts of law. Senior professional officers of the Forensic Science Division are appointed as examiners in the City and Guilds Traffic Accident Investigation Examination in Hong Kong. With the increasing workload, special computer software for traffic analysis/ simulation and tachograph equipment were utilised to facilitate the complex analysis required.
In preparation for the development of the DNA profiling technique, a professional officer was attached to the Chinese University of Hong Kong for six months to study the technique involved and to evaluate some of the probes available commercially, followed by attachments to prominent research centres and forensic science laboratories in the United Kingdom. Background work such as statistical compilation, setting up of a local ethnic DNA data base, evaluation of probes and enzymes has commenced, and the introduction of this technique to casework is expected in the early part of 1991.
In relation to dangerous drugs and other drugs of abuse, items submitted to the laboratory for identification and certification continued to increase. The year also saw a drastic decrease in the purity of heroin seized at street level. With analytical results and statistical information provided from the laboratory, a new sentencing tariff based on the weight of narcotic rather than the weight of mixture has been handed down by the Court of Appeal.
The laboratory continued to provide a twenty-four hour scene of crime service to law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong. During the year, laboratory personnel attended over 700 crime scenes involving arson, robbery, blood spatter interpretation and traffic accidents. They also lectured to various client departments on the scientific detection of crimes.
Immigration Department
The Immigration Department plays an important role in maintaining law and order in Hong Kong.
Immigration Control
Through examination at control points and vetting of visa applications, undesirable persons including international criminals, terrorists and other persona non grata are detected and refused entry into Hong Kong. In 1990, 34 491 such travellers and persons not in possession of proper documentation were refused permission to land and 1 633 persons were refused visas.