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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1985
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''NO SOONER HAD THE SQUAD BEEN FORMED THAN WE IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF GANGS. THEY WERE HIGHLY MOBILE. SOME WERE LOCAL GROUPS, SOME WERE VIETNAMESE AND OTHERS WERE DEAF AND DUMB PEOPLE.''
A COMMON WAY TO FALL VICTIM TO A PICKPOCKET WOULD BE BY BEING JOSTLED BY ACCOMPLICES IN A CROWDED PLACE, SUCH AS A BUS QUEUE OR BY BEING STOPPED BY A DIVERSIONARY TACTIC SUCH AS A MAN IN THE STREET SUDDENLY DROPPING A HANDFUL OF COINS, FORCING PEOPLE BEHIND HIM TO STOP.
'IT ALL HAPPENS WITHOUT PEOPLE STANDING BY IN THE STREET KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. SOMETIMES THEY SEE IT HAPPEN AND DO NOTHING ABOUT IT, PUBLIC CO-OPERATION HAS BEEN A PROBLEM AT TIMES.
**WE MADE A VIDEOTAPE FOR TRAINING PURPOSES TO SHOW HOW EASY IT WAS TO MISS A PICKPOCKET AT WORK AND WE FILMED PEOPLE WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE, WITNESSING OUR STAGED INCIDENT WITHOUT RAISING A HUE AND CRY."
IN ORDER TO ARREST COMPLETE GANGS AND NOT JUST THE PERSON WHO CARRIES OUT THE THEFT, THE RAPPS SET UP OBERVATION AND PHOTOGRAPHIC POSTS TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE CULPRITS.
RAPPS PERSONNEL, DRESSED LIKE ANY OTHER PASSER-BY, MINGLED WITH CROWDS AND SUSPECTS. ONE GANG SUCCESSFULLY INDENTIFIED AND NEUTRALISED CONTAINED 10 PEOPLE.
BY LAST YEAR THE NUMBER OF PICKPOCKET REPORTS ON HONG KONG ISLAND HAD DROPPED TO 686.
THE RAPPS EXPERIENCE IS NOW BEING PASSED ON FORCE WIDE TO OTHER FORMATIONS.
REGIONAL ATTACHMENTS ARE BEING MADE TO THE SQUAD BY ROTATION TO STUDY LESSONS IN INTELLIGENCE GATHERING AND OPERATIONS AT STREET LEVEL.
KOWLOON AND NEW TERRITORIES ARE ALSO TAKING ACTIVE ROLES IN COMBATTING TRENDS IN PICKPOCKET ACTIVITIES.
FIREWORKS POSTERS SNAPPED UP
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THE ATTRACTIVELY DESIGNED 1985 FIREWORKS POSTERS HAVE ONCE AGAIN PROVED TO BE VERY POPULAR AMONG LOCAL RESIDENTS.
IN LESS THAN TWO DAYS, ALL 14 500 COPIES AVAILABLE FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION AT THE URBAN COUNCIL PUBLICATIONS CENTRE HAVE BEEN SNAPPED UP.
/IN VIEW