XN000022-1994-11-05 — Page 3

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1994.

ADDITIONAL

LAST YEAR, THE POLICE FORCE UNDERTOOK TO PUT 800 OFFICERS ONTO THE BEAT, AND RECRUITED AN ADDITIONAL 600 OFFICERS.

MAKE

MAJOR EXERCISES TO IMPROVE MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY AND ΤΟ GREATER USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND CIVILIAN SUPPORT STAFF, TO RELEASE TRAINED OFFICERS FOR FRONT LINE ANTI-CRIME WORK ARE CONTINUING.

THE GOVERNOR ALSO POINTED OUT THAT THE OVERALL CRIME RATES WERE DOWN FOR THE THIRD YEAR RUNNING.

VIOLENT CRIME DECREASED BY FIVE PER CENT IN THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, AND ARMED ROBBERIES WERE DOWN 37 PER CENT.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE GOVERNOR'S MEDIA SESSION

THE FOLLOWING IS THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEDIA SESSION BY THE GOVERNOR, THE RT HON CHRISTOPHER PATTEN, AFTER OPENING THE FIGHT CRIME CONFERENCE TODAY (SATURDAY):

GOVERNOR: I AM DELIGHTED TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ADDRESS THE FIGHT CRIME COMMITTEE THIS MORNING AND TO SEE THE LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DISTRICT FIGHT CRIME COMMITTEES. THE FIGURES FOR CRIME IN HONG KONG ARE,

AS WE ALL KNOW, BETTER THAN IN MOST COMPARABLE COMMUNITIES. BUT ANY CRIME IS TOO MUCH CRIME AND THERE ARE ONE OR TWO WORRYING TRENDS WHICH, I THINK, ARE OF PARTICULAR CONCERN TO THE LOCAL DISTRICT COMMITTEES AND WHICH WE'VE GOT TO RESPOND TO. FIRST OF ALL, THERE ARE CONCERNS ABOUT JUVENILE CRIME AND SECOND AND RELATED TO ᎢᎻᎪᎢ . THERE ARE CONCERNS WHICH I TOTALLY SHARE ABOUT THE INCREASING INCIDENTS OF DRUG ABUSE WHICH IS, OF COURSE, SOMETIMES CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH JUVENILE CRIME. I THINK THOSE'RE BOTH PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE TO GIVE HIGHER PRIORITY TO AND IN GOVERNMENT, WE'LL BE CONSIDERING OUR RESPONSE TO THE SORT OF REQUESTS THAT I'VE BEEN HEARING FROM DISTRICT FIGHT CRIME COMMITTEES CHAIRMEN AND CHAIRWOMEN THIS MORNING. So, 1 THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN DEVELOP A MORE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH IN GOVERNMENT TO BOTH THOSE ISSUES. BUT, I DO WANT TO PAY A TRIBUTE ONCE AGAIN TO THE FIGHT CRIME COMMITTEE BECAUSE I THINK THEY HAVE DONE AN EXTREMELY GOOD JOB IN MOBILISING COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR THE POLICE IN THEIR ACTIVITIES TO STAMP OUT CRIME IN OUR COMMUNITY AND TO KEEP OUR STREETS AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE.

QUESTION: WHAT SORT OF ROLE OF SCHOOLS AND THE EDUCATION HAVE PLAYED TO FIGHT DRUG ABUSE AND JUVENILE CRIME?

DEPARTMENT

GOVERNOR: THERE IS, OBVIOUSLY, AN IMPORTANT ROLE FOR SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS AS THERE IS FOR PARENTS AND FAMILY STRUCTURE. I KNOW THAT MANY SCHOOLS ALREADY PLAY A VERY ACTIVE ROLE IN EDUCATING THEIR YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING WITH THE POLICE AND ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF AVOIDING THOSE SORTS OF ENVIRONMENTS WHERE CRIME 18 LIKELY TO THRIVE. I KNOW THAT MANY SCHOOLS ALSO TAKE A VERY ACTIVE ROLE IN DETERRING TRIAD ACTIVITIES AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE. AS I SAID THIS MORNING, ONE OF THE REASONS FOR MAKING SURE THAT OUR TEACHING' PROFESSION HAS THE STATUS WHICH IT DESERVES IS BECAUSE IF WE WANT A SAFER AND MORE CIVILISED COMMUNITY, THE EDUCATION THAT WE GIVE PEOPLE TODAY IS A CRUCIAL INGREDIENT IN THAT.

YOUNG

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/QUESTION: