ENG-2005 — Page 382

328 Public Order

United Kingdom, US and Australia. Regular contact is also maintained with the network of bomb data centres around the world. The bureau's capability is greatly enhanced by its cadre, a group of part-time volunteers, who have been trained in improvised explosive device disposal. The cadre volunteers receive ongoing training and are called back to assist the unit regularly.

In 2005, bureau officers were also responsible for responding to post-blast incidents in Hong Kong. These incidents ranged from a large explosion of fireworks aboard a ship to a small victim-operated device sent to the editor of a local newspaper. They disposed of old World War II ordnance and a large number of commercial pyrotechnics. Over the year, the bureau responded to over 100 call-outs.

Illegal Immigration

There has been a downward trend in illegal immigration from the Mainland since 1994. During the year, 2 191 illegal immigrants were arrested by Police, an average of six per day, representing a decrease of 24 per cent compared to 2004 when there were 2 889 arrests. Fifty-one per cent of those arrested in 2005 claimed to have entered Hong Kong by sea and the remaining 49 per cent crossed the land boundary.

The continuous downward trend in illegal immigration from the Mainland has been maintained through close cooperation and intelligence exchange with the Guangdong Border Defence Bureau and the fortification of the boundary fence along the entire land boundary using advanced technical equipment.

Police Dog Unit

There are about 170 general patrol dogs and sniffer dogs in the Police Dog Unit. The unit is responsible for ensuring that all dogs and handlers are professionally trained and that their skills are maintained at a high level of proficiency. In this connection, a new training centre featuring up-to-date breeding, medical and training facilities came into operation in 2005.

Special sniffer dogs are stationed at Hong Kong international Airport and the Kai Tak Operational Base to provide round-the-clock service in search operations. The unit's explosives detection dogs also play a vital role in security operations undertaken by the Police Force.

Traffic

In 2005, there were 15 062 traffic accidents involving casualties, representing an increase of 0.2 per cent compared with 2004 and 139 fatal traffic accidents, representing a decrease of 13.1 per cent compared to the previous year. During the year, 445 444 fixed-penalty tickets for moving offences were issued, an increase of 2.4 per cent compared with 2004. Police officers and traffic wardens issued a total of 572 214 tickets for parking offences, which represented an increase of 3.6 per cent. There were 68 143 summonses issued to traffic offenders, an increase of 0.7 per cent compared to 2004.