dices 13 and 14 respectively. In addition tables showing an analysis of, and persons prosecuted for minor narcotics offences are given in Appendices 15 and 16 respectively.
84. There were 24,047 cases of crime reported during the year, an increase of 2,531 or 11.8% over the preceding year, and the highest. reported figure for the past eleven years. The offences in which this increase mainly occured were Robberies and Larceny from the Person (snatching). Of the additional 2,531 cases, 1,130 (or 44.6%) were robberies and 1,027 (or 40.6%) were snatchings.
85. Juveniles (i.e. persons under 16 years age) prosecuted for crimes numbered 1,404 compared with 1,558 in the previous year, representing 11.4% of the total number of persons prosecuted compared with 15.3% in the previous year. Of the total juvenile offenders 446 (31.8%) were prosecuted for miscellaneous simple larcenies, 184 (13.1%) for robberies and 160 (11.4%) for offences against public order.
86. Young offenders (i.e. persons between 16 and 20 years) pros- ecuted for crime totalled 2,686 compared with 1,822 in the previous year, representing 21.7% of all prosecutions compared with 17.9% in the preceding year. Arrests among these youthful offenders showed sub- stantial increases for offences against public order (+257 or +97.3%), robberies (+231 or 135.9%), loitering and trespass (+178 or 144.7%), snatching (+94 or 174.1%) and possession of unlawful instrument (+93 or +357.7%). On the other hand fewer young offenders were prosecuted for serious assaults (-24 or -15%), larceny by servant (-28 or -57.1%) and miscellaneous larcenies (-110 or -26.7%).
87. Juvenile offenders dealt with by the Juvenile Liaison Sections in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Territories Police districts during the year totalled 284 compared with 531 last year, of whom only 3.2% came to the notice of Police for the commission of further offences.
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT
88. The Criminal Investigation Department is under the direction of a Senior Assistant Commissioner with a Senior Superintendent of Police as his deputy.
89. The department consists of seven main groups: the Anti- Corrpution Branch, the Narcotics Bureau, the Commercial Crime Office, the Special Investigation Office, the Triad Society Bureau, the General
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