ENG-1985 — Page 251

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PUBLIC ORDER

Some 467 kilograms of opiate drugs, including heroin base, No. 3 heroin and opium, were seized, compared with 1 340 kilograms in 1984. There were 12 432 prosecutions for narcotics offences, compared with 11 206 the previous year.

Crime Prevention

The Crime Prevention Bureau intensified its activities during the year. To publicise the crime prevention message and display security products, bureau staff operated a mobile exhibition centre at various locations throughout the territory. A portable display was also available for use in local community exhibitions. Crime prevention officers conducted a large number of security surveys in commercial premises and participated in discussions concerning the possible introduction of legislation affecting security companies in Hong Kong.

Criminal Information

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The Police Operational Nominal Index Computer System, which is maintained and operated by the Criminal Records Bureau, is becoming increasingly effective and efficient with more user-knowledge. The $8 million system, in operation since 1983, is now handling around 6 000 enquiries a day.

Identification Bureau officers attended 23 796 crime scenes to examine fingerprints, resulting in 519 persons being identified as having a connection with 643 cases.

The main fingerprint collection contains 549 705 sets of fingerprints. During the year, 75 814 arrest fingerprints were processed, and through these 39 887 people were identified as having previous convictions. Searches were also carried out on 47 343 sets of fingerprints for vetting purposes.

The Certificate of No Criminal Conviction Section handled 23 063 applications.

The Photographic Section, which is staffed by professional photographers as well as police officers, produced 693 606 black and white photographs and 137 054 colour slides and photographs.

Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigration continued to be one of the most serious problems facing the security forces, necessitating a daily deployment of about 800 police officers. During the year, 12616 illegal immigrants from China were arrested while attempting to enter Hong Kong. A further 3 394 were apprehended after evading security surveillance.

Patrols by Marine Police launches also helped deter illegal entry by sea.

The Illegal Immigration Intelligence Bureau took effective action against syndicates bringing illegal immigrants into Hong Kong and those involved in providing illegal identity documents. A total of 512 persons were prosecuted for being involved in these criminal activities.

Among the evaders who surfaced, 53 were found to be in possession of forged identification documents, a decrease of 64.4 per cent compared with 1984.

The smuggling of children into the territory continued. In 1985, the police located a total of 65 child illegal immigrants, a decrease of 63.9 per cent over the figure for 1984. High-powered speedboats were used by unscrupulous syndicates to transport children into Hong Kong. However, these activities, which have sometimes resulted in tragedy, were suppressed following effective counter-measures taken by the security forces.

The new-style identity card proved to be valuable in the fight against illegal immigration. The card is difficult to forge and contains information that can be readily checked through a computer-assisted verification system.