Commissioner Siu Chak-yee reviewed the overall law and order of Hong Kong in 2023 and outlined the work focuses of the Force in 2024 at a press conference on February 6. Deputy Commissioner (DCP) (Operations) Chow Yat-ming, DCP (National Security) Kan Kai-yan and DCP (Management) Chan Joon-sun also attended the press conference.

Overall situation

The overall number of crime cases reported in 2023 was 90 276, representing an increase of 28.9% when compared with 70 048 in 2022. The upsurge was mainly attributed to the increase in deception cases. The overall detection rate was 31.1%. Leaving deception cases aside, the detection rate was 46.2%.

In fact, the overall crime figures in recent years have inevitably been affected by factors such as the “black-clad violence”, the epidemic and the surge in deception cases worldwide, which necessitated careful interpretation of the figures. It was noteworthy that in the first half of 2022 amid the epidemic, a number of traditional crime figures dropped to a particularly low level, some of which even hit a record low. As the society resumed normalcy in 2023, most traditional crimes recorded an increase when compared with their 2022 figures, but quite a number of them registered a fairly significant decrease when compared with those of 2018, the year before the outbreak of the “black-clad violence” and the epidemic.

In 2023, a number of traditional crimes saw a very low figure and a high detection rate. Among them, the detection rate of robbery and arson cases even hit a record high of 82.5% and 48.4% respectively, and that of burglary cases reached 37.4%, which was the second highest on record. Some serious crimes of great public concern were swiftly detected by the Force.

Deception

39 824 cases of deception were recorded, representing a rise of 11 901 cases or 42.6% and 31 452 cases (a 3.8-fold increase) when compared with those of 2022 and 2018 respectively. Among them, around 70% of the reports were Internet-related. The amount involved in deception cases was over $9 billion.

The number of deception cases is on the increase worldwide. To tackle the escalating trend of deception cases, the Force sustained its efforts over the past year to step up enforcement, intercept fraudulent payments and adopt the approach of upstream scam intervention to mitigate victims’ losses. The Force also rolled out multiple anti-deception measures with important stakeholders and supervisory bodies, and continued to raise anti-deception awareness among members of the public through various approaches, e.g. the launch of Scameter+ and SMS Sender Registration Scheme etc.

Homicide

28 cases of homicide were recorded, representing a drop of two cases (-6.7%) and 20 cases (-41.7%) when compared with the 2022 and 2018 figures respectively. Nine cases involved domestic or family violence; the remaining 19 cases involved disputes, industrial accidents, psychiatric problems, etc. Only one case was yet to be detected, and the Force is making every effort to bring to justice an absconded suspect who fled Hong Kong on the offence date.

Wounding and serious assault

There were 3 636 cases of wounding and serious assault. The total figure saw a slight increase of 22 cases (+0.6%) when compared with that of 2022. The detection rate was 73% (+2.9 percentage points). The upsurge was attributed to the rise in cases involving domestic violence (+92 cases, +13.8%). When compared with that of 2018, the figure registered a drop of 20.8%, and was even the second lowest on record over the past 50 years. The detection rate was the highest since 1981. A total of 308 triad-related wounding and serious assault cases were recorded, representing a drop of around 10% to 20% when compared with 2022 and 2018 respectively.

Robbery

There were a total of 97 cases of robbery, which was the second lowest on record maintained since 1969. While the figure increased by 20 cases (+26%) when compared with the record low in 2022, it registered a drop of 34% when compared with the figure of 2018. Besides, the detection rate in 2023 reached 83% (+8.5 percentage points), which was the highest on record. Over the past year, there were neither bank robbery cases nor robbery cases involving genuine firearms and stun guns. All seven cases of goldsmith/watch and jewelry shop robbery, which were of public concern, were detected, with all stolen property successfully recovered in some of the cases.

Burglary

There were 1 354 cases of burglary last year. The figure was the second lowest on record, similar to that of robbery cases. While the figure was only higher than the record low in 2022 amid the epidemic by 468 cases (+52.8%), it registered a drop of 14% when compared with that of 2018. The detection rate was 37.4%, which was the second highest on record, with 506 cases detected and 386 persons arrested.

Theft

There were 23 135 theft cases of various types, an increase of 27% (+4 879 cases) and 8.6% when compared with those of 2022 and 2018 respectively. The upsurge was mainly attributed to the increase in miscellaneous theft (12 470 cases, +2 742 cases, +28.2%), shop theft (8 221 cases, +1 785 cases, +27.7%) and pickpocketing (673 cases, +488 cases, a 2.6-fold increase).

Blackmail

A total of 2 659 cases of blackmail were recorded, representing a rise of 45%. Among the 833 increased cases, “naked chat” alone took 715 cases (to 2 117 cases, +51%). Although the proportion of students falling victim to “naked chat” blackmail dropped from 34.5% in 2021 to 22.8% and 20.9% in 2022 and 2023 respectively, they remained as the largest group of victims. Therefore, the Force will continue to conduct targeted publicity and public education alongside enforcement actions, so as to prevent youths, students in particular, from becoming victims.

As for enforcement, the Force conducted joint operations with the Public Security Bureau of the Mainland in June. A total of 19 persons were arrested in both the Mainland and Hong Kong. The arrestees were involved in at least 149 deception cases, including “naked chat” blackmail cases.

Sexual offences

There were 67 cases of rape, with an increase of 14 cases (+26.4%). Only three cases were committed by strangers, all of which were detected. Among the 67 cases, only two cases were yet to be detected. The suspect and the victim of the two cases were co-workers and friends respectively. The Force is actively pursuing the two suspects.

A total of 1 162 indecent assault cases were recorded, with a rise of 209 cases (+21.9%). The upsurge was attributed to the rise of cases which happened in public places and MTR premises, as well as the post-epidemic resumption of social activities. The detection rate was 77.6%.

Serious drug offences

There were 1 153 serious drug cases, with a drop of 283 cases (-19.7%). The increases in seizure of various major drugs ranged between 25% and more than two folds. The number of youth students arrested in connection with serious drug cases dropped by nearly half (-47 persons, -49.5%) to 48, while that for non-students arrested dropped by 36% (-73 persons).

Triad-related crimes

A total of 2 334 triad-related crimes were recorded, representing a drop of 220 cases (-8.6%). The detection rate was 95.1%, which was a record high over the past 20 years. The Force mounted a number of large-scale anti-triad operations over the past year, including the tripartite joint anti-crime operation codenamed “THUNDERBOLT 2023” mounted by the police authorities of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao from June to September, with a total of 6 400 persons arrested in Hong Kong.

Youth crime

A total of 3 041 youths were arrested for committing criminal offences, representing a rise of 10% (+267 persons). The upsurge in the number of youths arrested was mainly attributed to the rise in cases of deception (589 persons, +249 persons, +73.2%), shop theft (196 persons, +55 persons, +39%) and miscellaneous theft (215 persons, +44 persons, +25.7%).

The rise in youth-arrests was related to the epidemic, as the figure for 2022 amid the epidemic was the third lowest on record. Nevertheless, last year’s figure was 12% below the average of the past decade.

Enforcement on National Security Law

As at December 31, 2023, the Force has arrested a total of 290 persons, amongst whom around 60% have been charged.

Commissioner’s Operational Priorities 2024

There are eight items for the Commissioner's Operational Priorities 2024, which include:

• safeguarding national security

• combating violent crime

• combating triads, syndicated and organised crime

• combating dangerous drugs

• combating deception and quick cash crime

• enhancing cyber security and combating technology crime

• enhancing public safety

• enhancing counter-terrorism

Work focuses in 2024

Firstly, to safeguard national security, the Force has to guard against acts of “soft resistance” in the society, and continue to uphold the principle of “laws are observed and strictly enforced, so as to bring offenders to account”. The Force will keep up effort to strengthen the effectiveness of intelligence gathering, with a view to cracking down on those who endanger national security. Various approaches will also be adopted to proactively raise public awareness about “Spot and Report” awareness.

Secondly, to enhance community engagement and solicit support from members of the public, the Force will continue to proactively strengthen communication with various sectors of the community, young people in particular, and make good use of different channels, including traditional and social platforms, so as to extend our reach with members of the public. The Force will also sustain its efforts to optimise policing services, boost work efficiency with the aid of technology, and further enhance the transparency of police work.

Thirdly, to focus on fighting and preventing crimes, with an emphasis on combating deception cases, the Force will continue stepping up enforcement. Furthermore, the Force will continue raising the anti-deception awareness of members of the public through online and offline publicity and maintaining close cooperation proactively with stakeholders from various sectors, relevant government departments and other law enforcement agencies, including their Mainland and overseas counterparts.