ENG-1992 — Page 298

PUBLIC ORDER

returned from China in the last quarter of the year. Recently, China has also announced measures to ban the registration as well as transfer of ownership of right-hand-drive vehicles in the Guangdong province. These measures, if properly enforced, will effectively reduce the theft of high-valued private cars.

The year continued to witness major developments in the Force to meet future needs. Kowloon was split into two regions - Kowloon East and Kowloon West – and three new police stations at Waterfront, Ma On Shan and Tin Shui Wai were opened.

Technological advances also progressed on schedule to modernise the Force. These included the upgrading and enhancement of the computer-based command and control system. This has enabled a more efficient and rapid deployment of resources to incidents.

In May, an inter-departmental study on the recruitment and retention of junior police officers was conducted. A package of recommendations, including those on improved remuneration for junior police officers, was approved by the Executive Council.

In July, a high-profile recruitment campaign was launched. By the end of the year, a total of 1 789 constables was recruited. This represented a 43.6 per cent increase over last year.

Crime

The total number of crimes reported to police in 1992 was 84 056, a decrease of 5.2 per cent compared with 88 659 in 1991. The crime rate, defined in terms of the number of crimes per 100 000 of the population, was 1 446.4. This represented a drop of 6.1 per cent, compared with 1991. The crime rate of Hong Kong has been steady in recent years, ranging from

1 407.1 to 1 547.9.

Violent crime, a category which includes murder, wounding, serious assault, rape, indecent assault, kidnap, blackmail, criminal intimidation, robbery and arson, registered a decline in the year, with a total of 18 567 cases being recorded, compared with 19 558 in 1991. Robbery, wounding and serious assault accounted for 76 per cent of the total number of violent crimes in 1992.

Vehicle theft remained a cause for concern. There were 6918 motor vehicles reported missing in 1992, compared with 6 475 in 1991.

The number of robberies involving the use of firearms both genuine and pistol like objects – was 418, compared with 547 in 1991.

A total of 37 953 crimes or 45.2 per cent was detected in 1992, and some 41 780 persons were arrested for various criminal offences. Of the persons arrested, 6 533 were juvenile offenders (aged under 16) and 7 656 were young person offenders (aged between 16 and 20).

Organised Crime and Triads

A general trend towards increased violence and incidents involving the use of genuine firearms was noted in the early months of the year. In 1992, 56 genuine firearms, and 50 grenades were seized, compared with 116 and nine respectively in the previous year.

A series of violent robberies involving the use of powerful firearms occurred in April and May. In some of these incidents, grenades were thrown indiscriminately, resulting in fatal and serious injuries to several members of the public and the police. Prompt action by the police contained the trend effectively. Subsequent investigations also led to the arrests of many key members of the gangs.

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