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the original incentive to form these committees was
self-protection, their potential as a grass-roots
organisation was always recognised by the Government, and
their extra-security activities have been steadily
expanded and encouraged. They now offer a new and
increasingly widespread point of contact and consultation
for the Home Affairs Department, Police and other
departments.
22.
This combination of measures appears now
to have stopped the rise in crime, but much work remains
to be done to reduce it.
23. Drug Addiction is an historical and continuing
problem in Hong Kong. 64% of the present prison popu-
lation was found to be drug addicted on admission and
there are probably about 100,000 addicts in the Colony.
The success rate of cure in prisons is very high (currently
41% still drug free three years after completion of
treatment) as is that of Government financed private
agencies, but they do no more than scratch the surface
of the problem. The latter can only be solved by
simultaneous and successful attacks on the source
(Thailand) and the criminal distribution network in
Hong Kong, and by provision of a cure that can be applied
en masse without segregation or interference with the
earning capacity of addicts. There have been notable
successes in seizures and in prosecution of distributors
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