PUBLIC ORDER
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A total of 20 207 Vietnamese illegal immigrants arrived in Hong Kong in 1991 compared with 6 598 in 1990.
Traffic
The number of licensed vehicles and the resulting traffic density, in terms of vehicles per kilometre of road space, increased over the previous year by 4.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively. This highlighted, once again, the need for positive traffic control and increased effort in road safety education.
Road safety campaigns were mounted throughout the year to educate pedestrians and drivers. Emphasis was placed on pedestrians over 60 years of age, motor-cyclists and cyclists.
The Road Safety Exhibition Centre at Police Traffic Headquarters, Sau Mau Ping Road Safety Town, Sha Tin Road Safety Park, the newly-opened Pak Fuk Road Safety Town and the Road Safety Mobile Exhibition Centre were all regularly visited by schools and other organisations.
During 1991, there were 15 298 traffic accidents causing personal injury, an increase of 2.1 per cent against the previous year.
Marine Region
1991 has seen a decrease in the number of illegal immigrants (IIs) arriving from China by sea, as was with those attempting to enter Hong Kong by crossing the land border. The trend of using concealed compartments in vessels to smuggle IIs into the territory continued throughout the year, with perpetrators adopting often ingenious methods to conceal their human cargo. To counter the trend, the police are looking at high-tech methods of searching, including the use of heat-seeking equipment. The majority of IIs continue to be brought into Hong Kong by Chinese trading vessels, keeping marine police officers very busy.
With the disbandment of the Illegal Immigration Intelligence Bureau in March 1991, the collation of intelligence/statistics pertaining to IIs is currently done by Operations Wing in Police Headquarters. Nevertheless Marine Region continues to play a vital operational role in combating illegal immigration from China. Marine Crime Headquarters investigate and, when appropriate, prosecute cases in which illegal immigrants from China are brought into the territory on sea-going vessels.
For the first three months of 1991, the region continued to deal with a very high level of smuggling activity from Hong Kong to China, involving motor vehicles (including stolen luxury models), video cassette recorders and other electrical goods. The use by smugglers of specially designed high-speed boats fitted with four or five outboard engines capable of speeds of 60-70 knots per hour, had made interception at sea difficult. There has, however, been a major breakthrough in combating the smugglers, following the formation of the Anti-Smuggling Task Force in February and the introduction of new legislation in April. The new law enabled more effective action to be taken against the smugglers ashore and also prohibited the construction and storage of speedboats designed specially for smuggling purposes.
There was a significant decline in the level of such activity since the introduction of the new legislation. Some $22.59 million worth of goods intended for smuggling were seized, and 1006 persons were arrested. However, smugglers have adopted new tactics by using