SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 1985
12
SAFETY FROM CRIME +DOWN THE TUBES+
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CRIMINALS JUST LOATHE HONG KONG'S UNDERGROUND RAILWAY.
AND WITH GOOD REASON. ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT THE TERRITORY'S SIX-YEAR-OLD MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY, IS POSITIVELY REPULSIVE TO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.
YET, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN VAST CRIME POTENTIAL IN A SYSTEM WHICH, IN TERMS OF PASSENGER DENSITY PER KILOMETRE OF TRACK, IS BY FAR THE WORLD'S BUSIEST.
ON A NORMAL DAY, THE MTR CARRIES 1.2 MILLION PEOPLE. BUT THIS IS EXPECTED TO SOAR SOON TO TWO MILLION PER DAY.
"THE POLICE WERE IN ON THE PLANNING STAGES OF HONG KONG'S UNDERGROUND PROJECT VERY EARLY ON, SO WE WERE ABLE TO DESIGN-OUT THE POTENTIAL CRIME TROUBLE SPOTS. AND IT WORKS, WE'VE PROVED IT,' EXPLAINS THE COMMANDER OF THE MTR DISTRICT OF THE ROYAL HONG KONG POLICE, SUPERINTENDENT JAMIE CLEMENTS. OUR UNDERGROUND'S CRIME SCENE IS VERY PETTY AND VERY, VERY LOW."
TO DEMONSTRATE, HE POINTS TO THE WALL CHARTS IN HIS HEADQUARTERS AT KOWLOON BAY, WHICH ARE DRAWN TO AN ASTONISHINGLY SMALL SCALE IN ORDER TO PRODUCE ANYTHING VISIBLE AT ALL. THE COLUMN GRAPH REPRESENTING PETTY THEFTS OF MTR EQUIPMENT FOR THE MONTH LOOMS LARGEST. IT LOOKS SINISTER BUT IT REPRESENTS ONLY FIVE CASES.
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** IN ANY CATEGORY, SAID MR CLEMENTS, ''SIX, TO ME, IS A CRIME WAVE.''
IN 1984, WELL OVER 413,000,000 PEOPLE USED THE RAILWAY AND THERE WERE 213 CASES OF CRIME. OF THESE, 129 WERE SOLVED GIVING A DETECTION RATE OF 60.6 PER CENT.
THERE WERE FIVE CASES OF ROBBERY, FOUR SNATCHINGS, AND THREE CASES OF INDECENT ASSAULT ON A FEMALE (IN WHICH ALL THREE CULPRITS WERE CAUGHT). PICKPOCKETTING ADDED A FURTHER 41 CASES (13 DETECTED), AND THERE WERE 31 THEFTS OF MTR EQUIPMENT. POSSESSION OF FORGED lus OR TRAVEL PASSES, POSSESSION OF DRUGS, DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RESISTING ARREST WERE AMONG OTHER CRIMES WHICH GAVE MINOR BOOSTS TO THE FIGURES, AND MANY OF THE ARRESTS MADE IN THE MTR RELATED 1. CRIMES COMMITTED ELSEWHERE.
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STRIKINGLY, MOST OF THE CRIMES DID NOT INVOLVE OTHER MTP ASSENGERS AS VICTIMS.
/IN CONTRAST