ENG-1984 — Page 272

PUBLIC ORDER

213

crime campaign which was launched on July 20 by the FCC, at a reception attended by all District Fight Crime Committee members, who continued to play a vital part in taking the campaign messages to the public. During the year, efforts were made to improve liaison between the FCC and its district counterparts with FCC members regularly attending district committee meetings. It was hoped to develop this relationship further in the coming year.

Police Force

While there was a marginal decrease in overall reported crime during the year, there was a disturbing rise in the level of triad and gang related activities. This was first brought to the attention of the Fight Crime Committee in late 1983 through a confidential report initiated by the Commissioner of Police. As a result, a Working Group on Gangs was formed by the FCC to examine the problem in depth, with the aim of formulating strategy to co-ordinate government action to combat this menace.

In July, the Commissioner of Police ordered immediate action to counter an upsurge in what he considered to be blatant triad-type crime - mainly gang fights and attacks on individuals and members of rival groups. This involved mounting a series of territory-wide operations against areas and premises frequented by triads and other gangs. A total of five such operations led to 157 people, including 46 who were already wanted by the police, being charged with 182 offences ranging from robbery, serious assault, wounding and membership of triad societies to illegal immigration.

The use of firearms by criminals was a cause for major concern in the early part of the year. But there was a significant reversal of position following a series of successful police operations. One example of outrage was a cash-in-transit armed robbery in Central District involving foreign currency. Shots were exchanged during a police chase and a passer-by, a young woman, was shot and killed by the robbers and another seriously injured. A few days later, the gang was arrested after a shoot-out in a flat, and all of the money and an arsenal of 23 firearms were recovered. The manner in which the incident was handled said much for the training, skill and courage of the individual police officers who conducted the operation.

The recommendations of the Uniform Branch review of resource deployment were implemented in June. The changes have enhanced supervision of administrative and patrol functions in police formations, given greater flexibility to commanders in deploying their patrols and strengthened police links with the community through the appointment of 75 neighbourhood police co-ordinators - all experienced senior non-commissioned officers.

The Inspection Services Wing completed its first cycle of inspections of police forma- tions. The programme took 32 months to complete, and involved the inspection of 59 separate formations, resulting in 3 390 recommendations.

A Force Planning Group was set up to co-ordinate all planning activities with particular reference to manpower, buildings and equipment. The group keeps the government informed of current and anticipated force problems and resource requirements.

Crime

During 1984, 83 532 crimes were reported, compared with 86 000 in 1983. There were 7 245 robberies, a decrease of 12.8 per cent compared with 8 308 the previous year. Burglaries increased, from 11 308 in 1983 to 12 663. The overall detection rate was 42.8 per cent, compared with 42.9 per cent the previous year.