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platoons, attended three days' training at PTU. This training focused on crowd control, Internal Security, and working with Black Hawk helicopters.
The Special Duties Unit, the Force's counter-terrorist response unit which is also based at PTU Headquarters, was used several times to assist Crime Units against dangerous armed gangs.
Illegal Immigration
Illegal immigration from China continued to be a major problem. During the year, the police arrested 26 824 illegals from China, representing a 14.9 per cent decrease over 1994. Most were immediately repatriated.
Among those arrested, 52.5 per cent claimed to have entered the territory by sea and the rest by land. An increasing number of these land-crossers resorted to hiding in trains or cargo vehicles, instead of climbing over the border fence.
The police continued their responsibility for the border and, on average, deployed over 1365 officers each day to counter illegal immigration. The upgrading of the border fence, enhanced at the expenditure of more than $50 million was completed at the end of 1995. The Marine Police had an average deployment of 75 vessels per day at sea to prevent incursions by illegal immigrants.
About 54.6 per cent of arrested illegals had entered the territory previously. Most intended to enter Hong Kong to seek employment, but an increasing number tended to come as mendicants or to reunite with family members. Moreover, a significant proportion of illegal immigrants from the northern provinces of China sought to enter Hong Kong to obtain money by criminal means.
Vietnamese Migrants
During the year, the police continued to carry out regular searches of camps for home-made weapons, illegal items and alcohol-brewing equipment. They also provided support in the transportation of Vietnamese migrants (VMs) between detention centres, from these centres to the airport, and escorts to Vietnam, under the Orderly Repatriation Programme (ORP).
Although there have not been regular demonstrations in detention centres during the year, a number of transfers of VMs between detention centres during the year have been met with strong resistance. In May, a joint operation by the police and the Correctional Services Department (CSD) to move about 1 500 inmates from Section 1 of the Whitehead Detention Centre to the High Island Detention Centre met with strong resistance from all sections in the camp. Tear gas had to be used to restore law and order, and some police and CSD officers were injured by home-made spears and other missiles. In June, the VMs in High Island set fire to buildings before an operation to move 100 inmates to Victoria Prison in preparation for an ORP flight. Again, tear gas had to be used to restore law and order.
Traffic
The Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 1995, enacted in mid-1995, introduces a pre- scribed limit for alcohol levels and specific requirements for the taking of samples of either breath, blood or urine. Previous legislation did not give the police the power to demand such samples for analysis. This limited the number of prosecutions that could be initiated. The new provisions came into operation towards the end of 1995