THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1984
5
OUR CRIME FIGHTERS ARE TOPS
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HONG KONG'S LAW AND ORDER COMPARES VERY FAVOURABLY WITH OTHER MAJOR CITIES IN THE WORLD GIVEN ALL THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE CRIME, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CRIME, MR BRIAN WEBSTER, SAID TODAY (THURSDAY).
AT A LUNCH MEETING OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF HONG KONG, SOUTH DISTRICT 345, MR WEBSTER SAID AMERICAN MAJOR CITIES EXPERIENCED ABOUT 400 PER CENT MORE CRIME THAN HONG KONG, JAPAN 30 PER CENT AND SINGAPORE 10 PER CENT.
IN LONDON, 150 000 BURGLARIES OCCURRED IN 1983, 'COMPARED WITH 11 300 BURGLARIES IN HONG KONG.
ON VEHICLE CRIME, LONDON HAD 205 000 COMPARED WITH HONG KONG'S 12 000.
MR WEBSTER SAID THAT HONG KONG'S DETECTION RATE WAS ABOUT 40 PER CENT, LONDON 17 PER CENT AND THE USA ABOUT 21 PER CENT.
HE ALSO SAID THAT OVERALL REPORTED CRIME IN THE TERRITORY WAS GOING DOWN AT ABOUT TWO PER CENT.
''SPECIFICALLY THERE HAS BEEN A DOWNWARD TREND IN ROBBERIES. WE ARE NOW AT THE LEVEL WHICH PERTAINED IN MID-1979 NOT MANY CITIES IN THE WORLD CAN CLAIM THAT AS A FACT,'' HE SAID.
HE SAID ONE MAJOR CAUSE FOR CONCERN WAS THE INCREASE IN BURGLARIES, AND THE FACT THAT 24 PER CENT OF THE CRIME INVOLVED NO BREAKING-IN UNDERLINED THE NEED FOR MORE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN CRIME PREVENTION.
ANOTHER CONCERN TO MR WEBSTER IS TRIAD INVOLVEMENT IN ORGANISED CRIME, VICE, ILLEGAL BOOKMAKING AND MONOPOLIES.
HE SAID THE GANGS ARE WELL ORGANISED AND HAVE BECOME MUCH MORE EXPERT AND BUSINESSLIKE THAN BEFORE.
''WE HAVE REVISED OUR STRATEGIES TO COUNTER TRIAD AND GANG ACTIVITY AND WITHOUT GOING INTO DETAIL FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, THEY ARE PROVING EFFECTIVE," MR WEBSTER SAID.
ON COMMERCIAL CRIME, MR WEBSTER NOTED THAT INVESTIGATION HAS CONTINUED OF DEPOSIT-TAK ING COMPANIES AND PUBLIC COMPANIES WHOSE COLLAPSE IN 1982 AND 1983 EXPOSED MUCH FRAUDULANT TRADING.
HE SAID THAT FRAUDS IN GENERAL TERMS CONTINUED TO INCREASE AND AS HONG KONG BECAME MORE ORIENTATED TOWARDS THE USE OF CREDIT CARDS, CREDIT CARD SWINDLES ALSO BECAME MORE PREVALENT.
/TRE COMMERCIAL