ENG-2011 — Page 384

332 Į Public Order

and a precursor chemical (i.e. hydroxylimine) to regulation under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance and the Control of Chemicals Ordinance to deter their trafficking and abuse.

The Police Force, the Customs and Excise Department and the DH spare no efforts in taking action against drug crimes. A total of 1 249 kilogrammes, eight litres and 105 785 tablets of dangerous drugs were seized in 2011 and 5 593 persons were arrested for drug-related offences.

Drug Abuse, Statistics and Trends

The Central Registry of Drug Abuse complies statistics on drug abuse, collating information about drug abusers from a wide network of reporting agencies, including law enforcement departments, youth outreaching teams, treatment and rehabilitation agencies, hospitals and clinics.

In 2011, some 11 469 drug abusers were recorded in the registry, of which 28 per cent were new cases, 17 per cent were aged under 21, and 81 per cent were males. Heroin continued to be the most commonly abused drug in Hong Kong, with 52 per cent of drug abusers recorded in the registry being heroin abusers. The proportion of psychotropic substance abusers among all reported drug abusers has grown greatly over the years, reaching 60 per cent in 2011. Ninety-eight per cent of reported drug abusers under the age of 21 abused psychotropic substances. Commonly abused psychotropic substances by all age groups included ketamine (31) per cent), ice (13 per cent) and triazolam/midazolam/zopiclone (11 per cent). In 2011, about 21 per cent of drug abusers were reported to have abused more than one drug.

Seven per cent of drug abusers were reported to have taken drugs in the Mainland, mostly in Shenzhen. 49 per cent were reported to have taken drugs only in their own homes or in friends' homes, another 31 per cent at both homes and other places such as recreation areas, public gardens, public toilets and discos or karaoke halls. The remaining 20 per cent took drugs wherever convenient.

External Co-operation

Hong Kong supports international and Mainland actions against drug abuse and drug trafficking and participates in a number of regional and international meetings and seminars concerned with anti-drug policies, law enforcement, treatment and rehabilitation, and preventive education. Three international anti-drug conventions, which provide a treaty-based framework for international co-operation to address drug problem, apply to Hong Kong. They are the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended by the Protocol of 1972, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

In March, representatives from the ND, the Police Force, the Customs and Excise Department, the DH and the SWD took part in the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs held in Vienna as members of the Chinese delegation.