ENG-2010 — Page 370

312 Public Order

District Fight Crime Committees (DFCCs) continued to play an important role in the battle against crime by monitoring the situation at district level and reflecting community concerns about law and order issues. They helped foster community awareness of crime prevention and encouraged community participation in combating crime through publicity programmes carried out in the districts.

To foster closer co-operation, the FCC and DFCCs exchanged feedback regularly on various issues discussed at their respective meetings. FCC members also took turns to attend DFCC meetings and functions. In December, the FCC organised a Fight Crime Conference for all DFCCs to exchange views on topical crime issues and ways to combat crime.

Police Force

The Hong Kong Police Force's strong commitment to maintaining law and order ensured that Hong Kong continued to be one of the safest cities in the world for residents and visitors.

At year-end, the Police Force had an establishment of about 28 100 police officers and more than 4 700 civilian staff. The Police Force was also reinforced by some 4 000 volunteers serving in the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force. 148 inspectors and 904 constables were appointed during the year.

Strategic Action Plan

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To better meet various challenges, in January, the Police Force released the new Strategic Action Plan, setting out the priorities of police work from 2010 to 2012. It seeks to promote further the four established strategic directions engaging the community, enhancing the personal and professional qualities of Police Force members, strengthening criminal intelligence gathering Police Force-wide, and supporting frontline units.

Crime

Reported crimes in 2010 totalled 75 965, a decrease of 2.1 per cent compared with 77 630 in 2009. The crime rate stood at 1 076 cases per 100 000 population, a drop of 2.9 per cent compared with 1 108 in 2009. The decrease was mainly due to a decline in serious narcotics offences, wounding and serious assault, and missing motor vehicles. The number of violent crimes decreased to 13 546, a drop of 4.6 per cent compared with 14 193 in 2009.

In all, there were 778 robberies, a drop of 10.6 per cent compared with 870 in 2009. It was the fourth consecutive year that no case of robbery with genuine firearms was reported. There were two bank robberies, a drop of four compared with six in 2009. Most of these crimes were committed by lone robbers.

Regarding non-violent crimes, burglaries increased from 4 489 in 2009 to 4 543, a rise of 1.2 per cent, while thefts fell slightly from 34 554 in 2009 to 34 343, down by 0.6 per cent.

Of reported crimes, 42.8 per cent (or 32 548 crimes) were detected, resulting in the arrest of 37 956 persons. Of this number, 3 576 were juveniles aged between 10