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Public Order
At the end of 2015, the police had an establishment of about 28,900 police officers and 4,600 civilian staff, reinforced by some 4,000 volunteers serving in the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force. It appointed 96 inspectors and 810 constables during the year.
Crime
Reported crimes in 2015 totalled 66,439, a decrease of 1.9 per cent compared with 67,740 in 2014. The crime rate stood at 909 cases per 100,000 population, a drop of 2.8 per cent compared with 935 in 2014. The decrease was mainly due to a drop in miscellaneous thefts, wounding and serious assault, criminal intimidation and burglary. The number of violent crimes decreased to 10,889, a drop of 1.7 per cent compared with 11,073 in 2014.
In 2015, there were 223 cases of robbery, a drop of 27.8 per cent compared with 309 in 2014. Regarding non-violent crimes, burglaries decreased to 2,579 from 2,700 in 2014, a decline of 4.5 per cent, while overall thefts decreased to 27,512 from 28,596 in 2014, a drop of 3.8 per cent.
Of the reported crimes, 44.8 per cent, or 29,736 crimes, were detected, resulting in the arrests of 33,778 persons. Among these, 1,309 were juveniles aged between 10 and 15 while 2,826 were young persons aged between 16 and 20. Arrests of youths were mostly for wounding and serious assault, shop theft, miscellaneous thefts and serious drug offences.
The number of triad-related crimes increased to 1,812 from 1,643 in 2014, a rise of 10.3 per cent. This type of crime accounted for 2.7 per cent of all reported crimes during the year.
Between June and September, the police mounted a series of tripartite operations with the Guangdong and Macao police to combat the illegal activities of triad societies and organised crime syndicates, and to tackle cross-boundary crimes. They arrested 4,343 persons and seized $102 million of dangerous drugs and other illicit goods.
Commercial Crime
The Commercial Crime Bureau continued to tackle serious and complex fraud and counterfeiting of monetary instruments in Hong Kong by co-operating closely with its local, regional and international partners in multi-jurisdictional enforcement operations. It adopted a strategic approach by engaging different sectors of the community through the enhanced use of social media and by co-operating with multiple agencies on scam prevention initiatives. In 2015, the overall commercial crime situation remained stable.
Technology Crime
The Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau was formed on 1 January 2015 to co-ordinate police efforts in combating technology crimes. As a member of the Interpol Eurasian Working Group on Cybercrime for Heads of Units, the bureau played an active role in international collaboration against cross-boundary technology crimes.
Dangerous Drugs
The police adopted a multi-agency approach encompassing assistance from the community in disrupting drug abuse and drug trafficking.
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