setbacks to the Force which occurred later in the year. There was no relaxation in the fight against crime and indeed, there was a slight improvement in the state of law and order generally. This improvement was due to a vari of factors:
•
•
-
Increased public involvement – both as individuals and in organisations in the fight against crime. The beginning of the upturn in the world's economic climate, which was reflected in Hong Kong.
Improved education facilities.
• More and better housing.
•
A stronger police force, and the adoption of more effective strategies by the CID.
The restructuring and strengthening of the CID con- tinued and increased in momentum, hand in hand with the streamlining and improvement of strategies. Plans were formulated to enhance the counter-crime capability of the Force, and far greater emphasis was placed on the development and use of criminal intelligence.
Police offensive action remained at a high level. A total of 8,098 preventive crime offences, (e.g. loitering, possession of offensive weapons, etc.) were cleared in 1977, accounting for more than 27 per cent of the total detected crime.
The downward trend in crimes of violence continued. There was a decrease of 10 per cent during the year accom- panied by a 42 per cent detection rate, the latter being a
6 point rise over that in 1976.
There was a substantial decrease in robberies. A total of 6,525 cases were reported an average of 18 reports daily, compared with 24 a day during the previous year. This represented a decrease of 27 per cent overall.
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Burglaries, also, registered a decrease of 2 per cent, with a daily average of 15 cases. In seven out of 10 cases, the value of stolen property was less than $1,000. Never- theless, the detection of burglaries remained extremely difficult, only one case in seven being cleared up. Regret- tably, but understandably, the culprits are rarely seen and the property stolen is often not identifiable. Nevertheless, a marginal improvement was obtained during the year.
Serious assaults numbered 5,039 as against 4,613 in 1976. Approximately half the cases involved thug or gang activities, and the next major catergory was domestic disputes. There is little the police can do to prevent this type of offence.
The 57 homicides reported compares favourably with 82 in 1976 and 105 in 1975. In view of the relatively small number, the wide variation in the motive (many being 'crimes passionate' and the result of personal and private conflict), these figures do not significantly affect, or reflect, the overall crime trend. On the other hand very few homicides go unreported.
The motives for homicides are of interest:
VIOLENT CRIME
暴力罪行
THOUSANDS
+th
20-
STOLEN PROPERTY
失物
MILLIONS
百萬
HK$70
15
10-
5
16,436
1976
14,731
1977
21
2222
60
65
50-
40
30
20
10-
4.4
1977
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