ENG-2002 — Page 373

PUBLIC ORDER

juveniles and young persons were arrested for shop theft, miscellaneous thefts, wounding and serious assault, and robbery. Drugs offences were also prevalent among young offenders.

Violent Crimes Involving Firearms

In 2002, there were eight cases involving the use of firearms compared with six in 2001. There were 23 firearm seizures in 2002 compared with 14 in the previous year. The majority of the seizures were the direct result of intelligence-based operations conducted by the Police Force. The increased cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, including those on the Mainland, has resulted in the effective exchange of information on the activities of cross-boundary criminal syndicates.

Vehicle Crime

In 2002, a total of 2 412 vehicles were reported missing. This represents a decrease of 5.9 per cent compared with 2 562 vehicles in 2001. In particular, decreases were noted in the theft of luxury vehicles, four-wheel drive 'off-road' vehicles, motorcycles and high-performance vehicles. The downward trend resulted from a combination of rigorous local enforcement, enhanced boundary control and intelligence sharing with overseas and neighbouring jurisdictions. The Mainland authorities' ban on right-hand drive vehicles also continued to provide a disincentive for vehicle theft in Hong Kong.

Organised Crime and Triads

The organised crime and triad situation in Hong Kong remained stable as in previous years. There were 2 604 triad-related cases in 2002, which accounted for only 3.4 per cent of the 75 877 total reported crimes. With the police taking persistent and vigorous enforcement action, this figure has steadily declined over the last few years. In 2002, there were 1 828 crime and 17 903 non-crime reports relating to debt collecting activities, compared with 2019 and 12 639 reports respectively for 2001. Increased proactive enforcement has resulted in a downward trend in these reports since 1999.

During the period of the FIFA World Cup tournament in 2002, specific and focused enforcement action against illegal soccer bookmaking was organised. A total of 4 000 licensed premises were checked as a result of which 78 arrests were made, and $74 million worth of betting slips and $200,000 in cash seized.

The Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance enacted in 1994 also facilitates police action against organised crimes including the confiscation of crime proceeds. During the year, a total of 41 persons were charged with offences under this legislation and court orders resulting in a total confiscation of $1 million were made. In addition, a total of $111.4 million has been restrained pending court proceedings.

A number of significant cases have been detected through increasingly close liaison with the Mainland and overseas law enforcement agencies. This has proven that transnational cooperation is important to success in the ongoing fight against international organised crime. An example of such action was Operation Firelily, during which over 200 people were arrested and $86 million was restrained. This operation was directed against triad related cross-boundary prostitution activities and it now serves as a model for future cooperation with Mainland authorities in combating organised crime.

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