16
Public Order
a strong political will of the government and supported by a community highly intolerant of corruption.
According to the 2018 ICAC Annual Survey, 97 per cent of the respondents expressed support for the commission. On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 representing total rejection of corruption and 10 representing total acceptance, the respondents registered a mean score of 0.5, the lowest tolerance level since this question was asked in 2010 for the first time. In addition, 98.4 per cent said they had not personally encountered corruption in the past 12 months.
In 2018, the ICAC received 2,665 non-election-related corruption complaints, down 6 per cent compared with 2017. Of these complaints, 66 per cent concerned the private sector, 27 per cent related to government departments and 7 per cent involved public bodies.
Enforcement
The ICAC investigates complaints on suspected corruption. It initiates prosecution for corruption and related offences and administers cautions for minor offences upon the Department of Justice's advice. Of the prosecutions completed during the year, 127 people involved in 74 cases were convicted, resulting in person-based and case-based conviction rates of 78 per cent and 80 per cent respectively. The commission also prosecuted 149 people and cautioned 34 others. At the year end, the caseload stood at 1,501, including 71 related to elections. Of the 97 complaints concerning elections received in 2018, 44 and 20 related to the two Legislative Council by-elections held respectively in March and November.
Prevention and Education
The ICAC examines the systems and procedures of government departments and public bodies to assess and identify corruption risks, and advises on how to minimise those risks. In 2018, it completed 69 assignment reports and provided timely advice on 559 occasions.
Free corruption prevention advice is dispensed with a pledge of confidentiality to private organisations on request. During the year, the ICAC offered advice on 895 occasions. Corruption prevention resources are available on the commission's website.
Under an Ethics for All approach, the ICAC customises preventive education programmes to different target groups. In 2018, it conducted regular integrity training for over 32,000 government officers, and training on ethical leadership for high-ranking civil servants and other public officials.
In the private sector, the preventive education programmes reached around 44,000 employees, from front-line workers to top management. A three-year Ethics Promotion Programme that ended in 2018 registered the participation of over 2,200 listed companies. The ICAC also developed training materials for listed firms and Mainland-funded enterprises planning to list in Hong Kong, and partnered with major start-up connectors to educate grantees and incubatees of start-up funding programmes.
At the community level, the ICAC drummed up the impact of its 'All for Integrity' territory-wide. programme by partnering with some 850 organisations. To mark the commission's 45th
265