ENG-2017 — Page 316

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Public Order

Crime

Reported crimes in 2017 totalled 56,017, a decrease of 7.6 per cent compared with 2016. The crime rate stood at 758 cases per 100,000 population, a drop of 8.3 per cent. There were 9,086 violent crimes, down 10.1 per cent.

Robbery cases numbered 163, a decrease of 37.3 per cent. Burglaries declined 22.9 per cent to 1,872, while overall thefts fell 7.1 per cent to 23,806. The number of robberies and burglaries was at a record low since 1969.

Of the reported crimes, 48.2 per cent, or 27,005 cases, were detected, resulting in the arrests of 30,366 persons. Among these, 928 were juveniles aged between 10 and 15, while 1,804 were young persons aged between 16 and 20. Arrests of youths were mostly for shop theft, wounding and serious assault, miscellaneous thefts and serious drug offences.

The number of triad-related crimes decreased 4 per cent to 1,798 compared with 2016, accounting for 3.2 per cent of all reported crimes in 2017.

The police prohibit triad activities. Between March and August, a tripartite operation codenamed 'Thunderbolt' was mounted with the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department and Macao Unitary Police Service, resulting in the arrests of 5,439 persons in Hong Kong and the seizure of crime proceeds worth over $18 million.

Commercial Crime

The Commercial Crime Bureau tackles serious and complex fraud, money laundering and the counterfeiting of monetary instruments in Hong Kong. In May, it formed the Fraud and Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce. This public-private partnership enables law enforcement authorities and the financial sector to exchange and analyse information in preventing, detecting and disrupting serious financial crime and money laundering in Hong Kong.

Then in July, the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre was established to enhance coordination amongst the police, other government departments and local and overseas stakeholders to combat and prevent deception. The centre's 24-hour Anti-Scam Helpline 18222 provides instant advice and support for the public and front-line police units.

Technology Crime

The Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau combats technology crimes and maintains Hong Kong's cyber security through partnership with the community, stakeholders and overseas law enforcement agencies. The city's rising trend of technology crime was curbed from its peak of 6,862 reports in 2015 to 5,939 reports in 2016 and further to 5,567 reports in 2017.

Project Cyber Defender offers cyber threat protection, assessment and education to the community, particularly operators of critical infrastructure. It seeks to strengthen the cyber resilience of government bodies and reduce the incidence of botnet-infected computers in public and private organisations.

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