Police-1958-1959 — Page 36

MISCELLANEOUS OFFENCES

117. A total of 214,299 miscellaneous offences were dealt with during the year under review, a decrease of 17,397 compared with the 1957/58 total of 231,696. Full statistics are set out at Appendix VII Table B.

118. Miscellaneous offences are detailed under 22 headings, and include Narcotics and Traffic offences which are dealt with elsewhere in this report. Also included are:

Common Assaults

119. 12,896 reports of assault were received, the great majority of which were of a trivial nature, the parties concerned being warned to keep the peace. Only 555 prosecutions were undertaken by police.

Hawkers and Obstructions

120. An ever present problem in the crowded urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon are the thousands of persons engaged in making a meagre living by selling a wide variety of wares and food. Two police inspectors are posted as Hawker Liaison Officers to ensure maximum co-operation between the Police and Urban Services Department.

121. Prosecutions for hawking and obstruction offences fell by 8,205 to a total of 96,880 for the year.

Mendicants

122. The number of cases of mendicancy rose by 1,299 to a total of 4,393 for the year. Many mendicants who are arrested have their cases investigated by Social Welfare Officers, who endeavour to provide food and shelter in deserving cases, and who also appear in Court to advise the Magistrates of the circumstances of each case.

Illegal Immigrants

123. Offences under this heading dropped from 5,549 in the 1957/58 period to 1,919 for the current year.

124. Preventive measures meet with only limited success as it is not possible effectively to control four hundred miles of Colony coastline on most of which it is possible for illegal immigrants to land. New legislation passed late in 1958 gave powers of confiscation of vessels and vehicles engaged in conveying illegal immigrants and is expected to have a deterrent effect on persons engaged in this activity.

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