HK's crime rate remains at low level
( 2003-10-05 11:04) (Xinhua)
Hong Kong's crime situation in 2002 remained stable and the crime rate continued to stay at a low level, according to a report released by Hong Kong's Fight Crime Committee on Saturday.
The rate stood at 1,118 reported crimes per 100,000 population, despite a slight increase in the overall number of crimes by 3.9 percent. The overall crime detection rate of 42.7 percent compared favorably with other major world cities.
The number of violent crimes rose by 4.3 percent, mainly due tothe increase in wounding, indecent assault and robbery cases. However, the figure still remained low when compared with 1998, 1999 and 2000.
Both burglary cases and goldsmith/watch shop robberies recorded the lowest figure in the past 23 years. On the other hand, the number of shop thefts and street deception cases rose by 8.7 percent and 30.2 percent respectively.
As for juvenile and youth crimes, the numbers of offenders arrested dropped by 9.7 percent and 1.9 percent respectively when compared to 2001. For narcotics offenses, the arrest of juveniles and young persons under age 21 also plunged 23.2 percent.
The committee was pleased to note that with the vigorous enforcement actions taken by the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong authorities, there was a downward trend of young persons taking illicit drugs back to Hong Kong from the mainland.
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