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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1984
- IN PARTICULAR, THE DECREASE EXPECTED IN THE OVERALL LEVEL OF VIOLENT CRIME IS LARGELY DUE TO A DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF ARMED ROBBERIES, WHICH IN TURN IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE SEIZURE BY THE POLICE UF SOME 58 GENUINE AND CONVERTED FIREARMS IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR, SAID SIR EDWARD.
HE PAID TRIBUTE TO THE ADVICE OFFERED BY THE FIGHT CRIME COMMITTEE WHICH HAS FOCUSED GOVERNMENT ATTENTION ON AREAS OF PUBLIC CONCERN. A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS, SOME OF WHICH WOULD BE PUT TO THE COUNCIL LATER THIS SESSION, HAD SPRUNG FROM ITS RECOMMENDATIONS.
ON NARCOTICS, HE SAID, THE INCREASING INVOLVEMENT OF YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN IN DRUGS, EVIDENT OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS HAD BEEN REVERSED.
+OVERALL, THE NUMBER OF NEWLY REPORTED PERSONS UNDER 21 YEARS INVOLVED WITH DRUGS HAS DECREASED BY OVER 28 PER CENT, WITH ONLY 425 REPORTS IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1984, HE SAID.
SEVERAL FACTORS MIGHT ACCOUNT FOR THIS SUCCESS.
ONE WAS THAT POLICE AND CUSTOMS OFFICERS HAD SEIZED RECORD AMOUNTS OF NARCOTICS AND THE PRICE HAD AT TIMES RISEN BEYOND THE REACH OF ADDICTS WHO HAD THEN SOUGHT TREATMENT. AT THE SAME TIME, THE ADVICE OF THE ACTION COMMITTEE AGAINST NARCOTICS HAD GOT THE ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE ACROSS TO THE YOUNG.
THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION WAS A RELENTLESS ONE, SAID SIR EDWARD, IN REFERRING TO THE ICAC. FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF THE POLICE CORRUPTION PREVENTION GROUP, IN AUGUST 1981, A FURTHER 20 GROUPS HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED THIS YEAR IN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.
+REPORTS OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS SUGGEST LITTLE VARIATION
IN THE OVERALL LEVEL OF CORRUPT ACTIVITY, HE SAID.
+BUT THE TOTAL FIGURE CONCEALS ONE WORRYING TREND, THAT IS AN INCREASE IN MAJOR FRAUDS FACILITATED BY CORRUPTION,+
THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WAS CONTINUING TO IMPROVE ITS REHABILITATION FACILITIES AND DEVELOP CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMMES, HE SAID.
SPECIAL EMPHASIS HAD BEEN PLACED ON ADDITIONAL FACILITIES FOR THE BETTER PSYCHIATRIC CARE OF THE CRIMINALLY INSANE AND MENTALLY DISTURBED PRISONERS. DESIGN WORK ON THE EXPANSION OF THE SIU LAM PSYCHIATRIC CENTRE WAS NEARLY FINISHED AND BUILDING WORK SHOULD BE COMPLETED IN 1987.
TO HELP PRISONERS STAY AWAY FROM CRIME THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICES INDUSTRIES HAD BEEN EXPANDED AND DIVERSIFIED TO IMPROVE THE EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS OF PRISONERS ON THEIR RETURN TO SOCIETY AND QUALIFICATIONS WERE BEING PROVIDED.
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