304 Public Order
there were 162 licensed massage establishments, 190 licensed pawnbrokers, 5 494 liquor licensed premises, 280 380 security personnel permit-holders and 779 licensed money-lenders in Hong Kong.
The Police Licensing Office is also responsible for processing notifications of public order events. There was an increase in the number of public order events when compared to 2007 and 2006. During the year, 1 425 notifications of public order events were processed.
Marine Region
The implementation of the Versatile Maritime Policing Response strategy was in full swing in 2008 with the commissioning of two barge platforms, six medium patrol launches and six divisional fast patrol crafts. This has greatly enhanced the efficiency and capability of the Marine Police. There will be further deliveries of 11 medium patrol launches and 17 divisional fast patrol craft in phases over the next two years.
In 2008, Marine Region continued to focus on water sports safety in the territory and put forward various recommendations to the Safety Afloat Committee to promote safety at sea. The number of fatalities arising from recreational activities at sea was maintained at a reasonably low level of seven.
Marine Police continued to adopt a multi-agency approach to combating smuggling activities. There was a noticeable reduction in the sighting of Fast Moving Targets and the seizure of contraband in 2008.
Traffic
In 2008, there were 14 576 traffic accidents involving casualties, a decrease of 4.8 per cent compared with 2007 and 143 fatal traffic accidents, a decrease of 6.5 per cent compared with the previous year's figure. During the year, 453 830 fixed-penalty tickets for driving offences were issued, a decrease of 6.2 per cent compared with 2007 figures. A total of 696 210 tickets were issued for parking offences, representing a decrease of 1.2 per cent when compared with 2007. A total of 66 674 summonses were served on traffic offenders, an increase of 2 per cent when compared to 2007.
Public Relations
The Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB) plays an important role in enlisting public support for maintaining law and order by keeping the public informed of the work of the Police Force and maintaining good relations with all sectors of the community. Information about police activities is disseminated to the local and overseas media round the clock.
Details of Police policies and operational priorities were disseminated to the public by Police Community Relations Officers while the Junior Police Call (JPC) Scheme and the Police School Liaison Programme serve as bridges between the Police and young people.