Hong Kong Police Review 2021
The Regions devote themselves to upholding the rule of law, maintaining law and order, and serving Hong Kong with honour, duty and loyalty. They fight crime in ways that often involve engagement with different sectors of the community or multi-agency partnerships. Publicity and educational activities are held to enhance public awareness of crime prevention and road safety. In 2021, the Regions continued to support the Government to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Hong Kong Island Region
During the year, the overall crime rate of Hong Kong Island Region dropped by 12.5% compared with 2020. The implementation of the National Security Law served as a strong deterrence to radical protesters, and the social unrest that began in 2019 eventually subsided. By redeploying resources to combat conventional crime, the Region succeeded in reducing the number of burglaries and quick cash crimes by 19% and 10.9% respectively.
Meanwhile, the crime landscape has undergone a fundamental shift, posing new challenges to policing. To counter the surge in deception and technology crime, the Region reviews its crime prevention strategies regularly to ensure that it is appropriately focused and responsive to developing trends. In the year, the Region held a series of events to raise the public's awareness of crime trends.
Marine Region
The Marine Police maintain the integrity of the 191 kilometre sea boundary of the HKSAR and guard the 1,648 square kilometres of water and 261 islands under its purview.
Proactive enforcement during the year saw the arrest of 48.9% more illegal immigrants at sea compared with 2020, while smugglers' goods valued at more than $429.5 million were seized, up 16.4%. The Marine Region equips itself with the latest craft to counter ongoing and future challenges, taking delivery of eight Multi-mission Interceptors and one High-speed Interception Training Boat in 2021 for use by its Small Boat Division.
The new vessels launched signal flares and showcased their operational capabilities at the commissioning ceremony.
At the community level, the Region engages with key stakeholders such as District Councillors, Kaifong Associations and Rural Committees. New initiatives included Project MINI-MARINER, a community outreach plus video-conferencing programme highlighting sea safety, an important area of concern which was also promoted via the Region's YouTube channel alongside crime prevention messages. Popular social media and boat club magazines were leveraged as well. Face-to-face engagement included leaflet distributions and interdepartmental sea safety days, which ran throughout the year and received overwhelming community support.
The Region continues to support island communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic by transferring people who need medical help and enforcing quarantine measures.
The Marine Region works closely with the community and other stakeholders to promote sea safety.
Kowloon East Region
In 2021, Kowloon East Region registered a 6.9% year-on-year rise in the overall crime rate. Traditional crimes including burglary, theft from vehicles and arson decreased significantly, but deception cases rose steadily, especially in online scams.
The exploitation of youths to commit illegal activities also went up. Recognising this trend, the Region accorded high priority to combating crimes involving young offenders. Officers carried out a number of intelligence-led operations, and at the same time worked closely with community stakeholders to keep young people from embarking on a life of crime, resulting in an 8.3% drop in youth-related offences compared with 2020.
The Region was also committed to tackling the surge in telephone deception targeting Mainland university students. Publicity was conducted in partnership with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and new approaches were mapped out to maximise the reach to students living off-campus. For example, a WeChat group was created for students to receive crime alerts and make fraud-related enquiries to the police in real time. Anti-deception leaflets were given out through the services of minibus companies and food delivery agencies.
The Crime Prevention Office of Kowloon East Region held an anti-phone scam drive with Mainland students of the HKUST.
With social order restored after the 2019 unrest, the Region is working on greater community re-engagement and re-establishing ties with youths by joining hands with change agents in society. The initiatives included Project CAPKE, which aimed to foster good relations with primary and secondary school students under the theme of protecting animals. The Region also collaborated with a religious television platform, Creation TV, to produce and broadcast a series of mini-movies that carried important messages on avoiding deception and taking a stand against animal cruelty.
To raise operational readiness for major and terrorist incidents, the Region conducted two interdepartmental exercises, namely AIMHIGH coordinated by Operations Kowloon East, and HIGHFORT held by the Railway Response Team of Railway District, the latter targeting chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks. The exercises enhanced interoperability and response capabilities between police units and other government departments.
The Railway Response Team conducted an interdepartmental counter-terrorism exercise, codenamed HIGHFORT, to prepare for chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear threats.
No efforts were spared to increase awareness of road safety, especially among vulnerable groups including children and the elderly. As face-to-face classes had been suspended, online tools were used to deliver road safety e-classes to more than 12,000 kindergarten and primary school pupils. A hundred elderly ambassadors were also appointed to reach out to pedestrians in their age group through the 'Joint Hands for Road Safety' publicity campaign. Under this focused and sustained campaign, the elderly fatality rate on the roads decreased significantly by 46.7% compared with 2020.
To support the fight against COVID-19, the Region cooperated with other government departments to carry out Operation PINETOWER, and took a series of strict enforcement actions during Operations BRAVEDUKE and HEAVYSHAFT against violations of Cap. 599 Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance, particularly at unlicensed bars, gambling dens and party rooms. Officers made arrests and issued more than 3,000 Fixed Penalty Notices.
Kowloon West Region
The overall crime rate and number of violent crimes in Kowloon West Region remained stable. Deception increased substantially, while burglary, taking conveyance without authority, robbery, snatching and pickpocketing decreased significantly.
Two of the Region's ongoing initiatives are Project VANGUARD, which expands partnership with estate management and business operators to strengthen the Force's intelligence and communication networks, and Project NEVEREVER, a multidisciplinary child protection effort to protect youths at risk.
Under the Government's anti-pandemic measures, the Region took part in large operations on restriction-testing declarations and isolation orders. Yau Tsim District formed an ethnic minority cadre of police officers who were Project GEMSTONE graduates to help in these operations. Apart from translation, the cadre members mediated between residents and the Government to resolve misunderstandings caused by cultural differences. They also provided useful advice on the special catering needs of ethnic minorities, demonstrating the Government's determination to fight the disease.
Ethnic minority officers assisted in the Government's Restriction-testing Declaration Operation.
The need for policing in the area is on the rise as the West Kowloon Cultural District takes shape. The M+ museum opened in November 2021, and will be followed by the expected opening of the Hong Kong Palace Museum in mid-2022. There are plans to ensure large-scale public events are carried out safely, especially in traffic and crowd management.
Yau Tsim District also policed the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2021, the first major sporting event held since the beginning of the 2019 social incidents and the COVID-19 pandemic. The starting points of all the races were situated in the District, and despite a cut in the number of participants to around a quarter of the previous years, totalling about 16,000 runners, the policing of such an event was way more challenging than before. Aside from striking a balance between crowd management and the enforcement of anti-pandemic laws, countering terrorism and safeguarding national security were also the District's core objectives.
Mainland students at Hong Kong universities constituted a target group for outreach. Yau Tsim District established a small community with hundreds of these students, including the chairpersons of the universities' Mainland Student Associations. Officers arranged Cantonese classes and social integration activities, and also established a communication platform to share crime prevention and recruitment messages. Online talks on deception were organised for more than 1,000 Mainland students planning to study in Hong Kong. Through workshops held by the Police Public Relations Branch, some of the Mainland students became police spokespersons in various daily policing scenarios on YouTube, which presented the Force's responsibilities to maintain public confidence and garner public support on policing.
Mong Kok District launched Project MONG KOK T-POWER (Talent Power) in April. More than 100 officers took part as activity ambassadors and used their skills in planning, organising and leading diversified and meaningful activities to establish closer connections with people in the community, in particular the youths.
Sham Shui Po District and the Crime Wing Support Group jointly held an Art Jamming session in November with more than 300 volunteers and members of the public. To promote the counter-terrorism safety advisory of 'Run, Hide, Report', interdepartmental drills were conducted at schools and other locations to enhance the readiness and co-ordination ability among government departments and community stakeholders.
Kowloon City District rolled out the 'Kowloon City Little Pioneer' Board Game under Project ORCHESTRA to raise youth awareness of abiding by the law and to enhance the transparency of police work. Operation LUNARSHINE was launched to target street obstruction and illegal parking black spots through publicity, education and enforcement action with other government departments.
To promote the vision, 'Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong's Goal', Traffic Kowloon West and the Hong Kong Road Safety Patrol (Kowloon West Region) held a 'Road Safety Fun Day cum Art Competition Award Presentation' in September. At the Traffic Kowloon West Operational Base, another mural was painted on the outer wall to remind passers-by about elderly road safety.
New Territories South Region
In 2021, New Territories South Region recorded a 12.5% increase in the number of reported crimes, attributed mainly to technology crime, which climbed 30.5% compared with 2020 and accounted for a 60% rise in overall crimes in the Region. The crime detection rate was 37.7%. Significant reductions were seen in robberies (down 67.7%), arson (down 46.8%), snatching (down 35%) and burglaries (down 14.3%).
During the year, the Region worked on raising public confidence and strengthening public relations by expanding its community network, especially among the youth. The Regional Crime Prevention Office set up communication channels with student unions at universities after some students were found to be vulnerable to deception. Contact was also established with foreign domestic helpers who were new to the city through their agencies and quarantine hotels, so as to disseminate crime messages.
Traffic New Territories South held a launch ceremony in December for the Safe Cycling Charter, during which the Hong Kong Cycling Association and some of its member groups pledged to join hands with the Police to promote cycling safety to the public through various channels.
Tsuen Wan District started a new youth programme named Project REIGNITE to enhance partnership and trust amongst schools, social workers, youths, parents and the police through activities such as a foot drill workshop attended by students and teachers. Lantau District strived to rebuild trust between the Force and the community, in particular ethnic minority youth, using healthy lifestyle activities and other learning experiences in the new Operation HIDDENWAVE and IDEAS@Penny's Bay.
Kwai Tsing District launched the 'Little Elite' Series, a kindergarten package consisting of story books and play kits, to tell young children about positive values, national identity and abiding by the law. Project SHIELD, introduced jointly with the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, formed an intelligence network for crime prevention, detection and early intervention to those in need to prevent youth crime.
Kwai Tsing District launched the 'Little Elite' Series to tell kindergarten children about positive values, national identity and abiding by the law.
Sha Tin District engaged youths with Project SLASH, jointly organising experiential activities for secondary school students with other disciplinary forces, including the Fire Services Department, Correctional Services Department and Government Flying Service, to help the students establish life values and career planning, enhance their understanding of police work and build stronger ties with the schools.
The Region's Operations Bureau launched Project SHINE and also worked with the Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing, St. James' Settlement and the HKUST to promote an initiative to find missing elderly people with dementia by deploying Bluetooth technology to locate their tracking devices accurately, thereby minimising their risk of injury or other life-threatening outcomes. The project has been renamed Project L-HOMECOMING for citywide implementation in 2022.
The Region is vigilant to threats of terrorism. During the year, government departments and strategic partners including the MTRC, Airport Authority, Container Port Terminals and theme parks were roped in to join drills involving various districts and the operational formations of the Region and the Force.
New Territories North Region
In 2021, overall crime in New Territories North rose slightly by 3.7%. Significant increases were seen in serious drug offences (up 38.9%), indecent assault (up 38.3%) and technology crime (up 33.8%). The detection rate was maintained at 36% and all homicide cases of the year were detected by the Region's crime officers.
The Region works closely with the community in many crime prevention initiatives, including Project LAW & LOVE – TRUST in Tuen Mun District, Project SUNSHINE in Yuen Long District, Project LIGHTUP in Border District and Project VILLAGE WATCH in Tai Po District.
Counter-terrorism exercises including Project GRIZZLY were conducted for frontline officers to raise their state of readiness for major incidents and terrorist activities, especially at Boundary Control Points, and to enhance their capabilities and co-ordination with other government departments and public and private organisations. Crime officers also launched operations against prevalent crimes involving unlicensed bars and smugglers. The Region's Child Abuse Investigation Unit was rewarded for its work when it won the Lion Rock People's Choice Award at the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards 2021.
