ENG-1986 — Page 243

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PUBLIC ORDER

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which contained a wide range of legislative and other options aimed at making the fight against organised crime more effective. The document attracted much public and media interest and a variety of views were expressed during the three-month consultation period, culminating in an adjournment debate in the Legislative Council in July. Although some options gained more favour than others, there was clear public support for vigorous action to counter the triad threat. In October, the Chief Secretary made a statement in the further. Legislative Council, detailing the options that the government intended to pursue Work has begun on developing various options in draft legislation.

Discussions continue to be held with government departments on areas for which they have responsibility and in which triads and gangs might be operating, with the aim of preventing criminal activity by tightening controls and changing procedures.

The Fight Crime Committee paid special attention to the problem of juvenile crime. It followed up on recommendations to help prevent young people from slipping into delinquency, and to reduce recidivism among those who already had delinquency records. A decision was made to establish a Young Offender Assessment Panel which could better co-ordinate advice given to the courts on the backgrounds of young offenders and the correctional programmes most likely to reform them. The committee also embarked on a detailed examination of triad influence in schools and measures to combat this.

The committee monitored the implementation of the standardised law and order statistics system which became fully operational in July, providing compatible statistics from all branches of the criminal justice system. The proposal to establish a more sophisticated integrated statistics system was endorsed and planning for this began.

Discussions were started with the Security Association on how the security industry could best be regulated to ensure that the services it provided met adequate standards. In connection with this, amendments to the Watchmen Ordinance to improve the quality of watchmen and measures to control the standard of burglar alarms were examined. Liaison with goldsmith and jewellery trade associations was maintained in order to encourage sufficient security measures on the part of these trades, and the proposed scheme of using closure orders to tackle the problem of vice establishments causing nuisance in residential buildings was further refined.

The District Fight Crime Committees continued to play a vital role in the fight against crime by organising their own publicity campaigns on various issues and supporting territory-wide efforts, such as the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme and annual fight crime campaign, activities which bolster public awareness of anti-crime measures and involve- ment in these measures. The district committees also reflect the concerns of the community on law and order issues, and close links are maintained with the main committee, as epitomised by the annual conference of all members of the district and central committees.

Police Force

The visit of the Queen and Prince Philip in October was the high point of a year that was characterised throughout by a great deal of activity and advancement for the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. The Royal visit required a large police commitment, deployed mainly to marshal the large crowds that gathered to see the Queen.

Earlier in the year, the force was honoured by the visit of Princess Alexandra, who is the Honorary Commandant-General of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. Accompanied to Hong Kong by her husband, the Honourable Angus Ogilvy, the Princess unveiled plaques to open the Police Officers' Club in Causeway Bay and the Police Sports and Recreation Club in Boundary Street, and commissioned three new Marine Police launches.