ENG-2008 — Page 365

Chapter 16

Public Order

In 2008, Hong Kong continued to be one of the safest cities in the world. The overall crime rate fell by 3.7 per cent while the violent crime rate fell by 4.2 per cent compared to 2007. The overall crime detection rate was 45.6 per cent.

Fight Crime Committee

Established in 1973 under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Fight Crime Committee (FCC) provides advice and recommendations on measures to prevent and reduce crime, and co-ordinates crime- fighting efforts and monitors their results.

During the year, the committee continued to monitor the overall crime situation and the trend of various types of commercial crime. The committee also kept under review the progress of the 'Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme', which serves as an alternative to prosecuting young offenders.

In addition, the committee considered progress reports on the work of the Task Force on Youth Drug Abuse, a high level inter-departmental task force established in October 2007 under the chairmanship of the Secretary for Justice. The committee offered its views on various proposed strategies and recommendations in tackling. the youth drug abuse problem. The committee welcomed the release of the report of the task force in November 2008, which set out detailed recommendations on strategies to combat the problem of youth drug abuse from a holistic perspective.

The Standing Committee on Young Offenders, a sub-committee under the Fight Crime Committee, monitored the trend of crimes involving juveniles and young persons. The sub-committee discussed factors which affect the involvement of juveniles and youths in crime and proposed preventive and remedial measures to tackle the problem.

To enhance public awareness of thefts and deceptions, in particular pickpocketing and street deceptions which showed a considerable increase in 2007, the committee decided to step up publicity on safeguarding one's possessions and

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