XN000022-1993-07-05 — Page 4

MONDAY, JULY 5, 1993

CRIME IN HONG KONG FIRST HALF OF 1993

POLICE TODAY (MONDAY) RELEASED THE CRIME FIGURES FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THIS YEAR.

OVERALL CRIME SITUATION

CRIME FIGURES FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1993 SHOWED AN ENCOURAGING FALL IN MOST SECTORS OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD LAST

YEAR.

PARTICULARLY ENCOURAGING WAS THE DROP IN THE NUMBER OF ROBBERIES INVOLVING FIREARMS BY 46.4% AND WITH PISTOL-LIKE OBJECTS BY 29.6% OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 1992. VHEICLE THEFT DROPPED BY 22.2% OVER THE CORRESPONDING SIX MONTH PERIOD.

THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CRIMES REPORTED ΤΟ POLICE IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1993 WAS 40,610. THIS WAS A MARGINAL DECREASE OF 160 OR 0.4% OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 1992.

THE CRIME RATE, WHICH IS THE NUMBER OF CRIMES PER 100,000 POPULATION, WAS 689, A DROP OF 1.6% COMPARED WITH THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD OF LAST YEAR.

VIOLENT CRIME

THERE WERE 8,667 VIOLENT CRIMES REPORTED. THIS WAS A DECREASE OF 394 OR 4.3% OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 1992.

THE VIOLENT CRIME, I.E. THE NUMBER OF CRIMES REPORTED PER 100,000 POPULATION, WAS 147, WHICH REPRESENTS A DROP OF 5.8% OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 1992.

{VIOLENT CRIME INCLUDES MURDER, WOUNDING, SERIOUS ASSAULT, RAPE, INDECENT ASSAULT, CRUELTY TO CHILDREN, KIDNAPPING, BLACKMAIL, INTIMIDATION, ROBBERY AND ARSON)

SELECTED CRIMES

ROBBERY

THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ROBBERIES REPORTED IN THIS HALF COMPARED WITH 4,302 IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1992, A SIGNIFICANT 14.7%.

WAS 3,671

DROP OF

46.4%

THERE WERE 15 ROBBERIES IN THIS HALF WHICH INVOLVED THE USE OF GENUINE FIREARMS; THIS COMPARES VERY FAVOURABLY WITH 28 DOWN IN THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD LAST YEAR.

THERE WERE 159 ROBBERIES WHERE PISTOL-LIKE OBJECTS WERE MARKEDLY DOWN BY 29.6% ON THE FIRST HALF OF 1992.

USED,

/THE FIRST