KOWLOON DISTRICT
Kowloon District is the international gateway of Hong Kong, with a host of extremes from the luxurious to the squalid, futuristic to ancient, and bustling to serene. It covers the Kai Tak Airport, the Ocean Terminal and the Kowloon-Canton railway terminus.
The wide variety of environment ranges from the luxurious residential area in Kowloon Tong to the less salubrious areas along the Kowloon foothills, the modern tourist centre in Tsim Sha Tsui to the ancient Walled City, the busy commercial centres in Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok to the remote rural areas in Sai Kung.
These, together with more than half of the territory's population, pose the complete range of problems or diffi- culties that can be encountered by a police force in most of the big cities in the world. It is, therefore, not surprising that the district accounted for 63.9 per cent of Hong Kong's total crime in 1977.
The district is divided into seven divisions: Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po in the west; and Kowloon City, Airport, Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong in the east. In addition, there are two Emergency Units. The overall establishment is 5,363 regular officers, 1,829 Auxiliary officers and 914 civilian staff.
Once again, the year was one of change, adjustment, consolidation and forward planning. Events of note in- cluded the opening of the District's Command and Control Centre, the establishment of the Airport as a separate division, the setting up of a district antiburglary unit, the opening of more reporting centres in public housing estates, the expansion of Sai Kung sub-divisional area, and the introduction of the fixed penalty system for moving traffic offences. Construction of the Cheung Sha Wan and Ho Man Tin divisional headquarters are in progress, with the former expected to be opened in early 1978 and the latter towards the end of 1978.
The Command and Control Centre became operational in May, and the personal beat radio scheme has proved to be an invaluable aid to police duties in the streets.
As anticipated last year, there has been a significant improvement in the overall state of crime. All police re- sources and almost 8,000 regular and Auxiliary police officers are tasked to combat the never-ending battle against crime in all its forms. Procedures are constantly reviewed, and new innovations tested and evaluated.
Crime and Policing
Kowloon District has made considerable headway over the last year in the fight against crime. The number of crimes reported during 1977 was 36,254 compared with 40,530 in 1976, representing a 10.6 per cent decrease. The progress made in 1976 has been maintained and further gains have been made in certain important fields. Violent crimes and key crimes dropped by 19 per cent and 12.8 per cent respectively and in particular, it is worthy of note that a significant improvement has been made in the detection of robbery and burglary offences.
The CID in headquarters provides support and direction for units in divisions. The various district crime units, which form part of the overall structure, have the capability to undertake the more lengthy and complicated investiga- tions. Besides the Intelligence Unit, Property Crime Unit, General Investigations Unit and the Anti-Triad Unit, a new Crime Unit was formed in May to concentrate on burglary investigations. The Unit, with both investigative and intelligence capabilities, deals directly with all aggra- vated burglaries and those involving stolen property in excess of $5,000. It also undertakes follow-up enquiries into all other burglary offences in the district. By better liaison and co-ordination between units, more effective questioning of criminals, thorough and meaningful check- ing of fingerprints, modus operandi, stolen property and criminal records, it is hoped that even better results will be attained.
It is a little premature at this stage to assess the full effectiveness of this Unit and its operational strategy. However, early indications are most encouraging. During the first eight months of operation, the Unit made 112 arrests and detected 829 offences of burglary and asso- ciated crimes. The district burglary detection rate has soared from 9 per cent to 19.9 per cent. The value of property recovered by this 40-man Unit during this period was $348,664.
Yau Ma Tei Division
Yau Ma Tei Division comprises the two sub-divisions of Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui, and involves the policing of an area of approximately one square mile with a popula- tion of about 172,400. While the division as a whole is busy, the fact that Tsim Sha Tsui is the main tourist and commercial centre places an additional burden on re- sources. The incidence of crime during the year was 7,407 while the detection rate was 69.5 per cent.
The initiative in reducing serious crime has been sus- tained and the division obtained an improved detection rate over 1976. However, Tsim Sha Tsui still suffers a pickpocket problem despite the fact that this crime has been given priority enforcement measures. Unfortunately, publicity warnings about the dangers of pickpockets and encouragement to keep one's property secure, does not appear to reach most of the victims who are tourists.
The division is ever-conscious of the continuing problem of narcotics, but since the neutralisation of two major heroin syndicates last year, drug trafficking has fragmented and comprises small sellers dealing with known customers. Pressure is being maintained, and current information indicates that the situation in respect of general drug trafficking is under control. Opium divans are virtually non-existent and only on rare occasions are single pipes seized--these being the personal property of the private
smoker.
Action against syndicated exploitation of women and juveniles has been one of the priorities, and the 'night- scene' of the area has changed considerably. Almost all
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