ENG-2005 — Page 376

Crime

Reported crimes in 2005 totalled 77 437, a decrease of 4.8 per cent compared with 81 315 crimes recorded in 2004. The crime rate stood at 1 115 cases per 100 000 population, a drop of 5.5 per cent compared with 1 182 cases in 2004. The decrease in crimes was mainly due to the fall in robberies, burglaries and theft.

There were 13 890 violent crimes during the year, the same as 2004. Robbery, wounding and serious assault accounted for 66.1 per cent of the total number of violent crimes. There were notable decreases in the relatively more serious violent crimes such as homicide, robbery, blackmail and arson.

There were 1 675 robberies in 2005, compared to 2 237 in 2004, a drop of 25.1 per cent. Of those, three involved genuine firearms, the same as in 2004. There were 15 bank robberies compared to 16 the previous year.

Of the non-violent crimes during the year, the number of burglaries dropped to 5 492 from 7 002 in 2004, a decrease of 21.6 per cent. Serious narcotics offences dropped to 1 780 from 2 167 in 2004, a fall of 17.9 per cent. Thefts fell to 35 213 from 37 500 in 2004, down by 6.1 per cent.

Of the reported crimes in 2005, 44.3 per cent or 34 282 crimes were detected and 40 804 people arrested for various criminal offences. Of those arrested, 4 531 were juveniles (aged 10 to 15) and 4 780 were young people (aged 16 to 20). Most of the juveniles and young people were arrested for shop theft, miscellaneous thefts, wounding and serious assault, and robbery. Drug-related offences were also prevalent among the crimes committed by young offenders.

Violent Crimes Involving Firearms

Incidents involving the use of firearms remained at a very low level. In 2005, there were four reported cases, compared to three the previous year, and only three firearms were seized during the year. Stringent gun control laws, successful intelligence-led operations and the strategic exchange of intelligence with the Mainland authorities were effective in controlling the illegal import of firearms into Hong Kong.

Vehicle Crime

In 2005, 1 592 vehicles were reported missing compared with 1 740 in 2004, a decrease of 8.5 per cent. Police enforcement activities, boundary control, intelligence sharing with the Mainland and overseas jurisdictions and prevention campaigns contributed to a downward trend in respect of most types of vehicle theft.

Organised Crime and Triads

Organised crime activities in Hong Kong were contained as in previous years. There were 2 304 triad-related cases in 2005, which accounted for only 3 per cent of the 77 437 total reported crimes. With persistent and vigorous enforcement action, this figure has steadily declined over the past few years.

There were numerous proactive, intelligence-led operations throughout the year aimed at combating activities involving triads, such as extortion, loan sharking,