This screenshot taken from a government-published video shows Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung speaking at a media session after a meeting of Fight Crime Committee at the Central Government Offices on May 15, 2023.
HONG KONG – The number of crimes reported in Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2023 was 20,584 cases, representing a 48.4 percent increase year-on-year, while the overall detection rate was 28.3 percent, according to the city’s security chief.
Meeting the media after a meeting of the Fight Crime Committee Monday afternoon, Chris Tang Ping-keung outlined the reasons behind what caused the crime rate to climb.
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Discounting the deception cases, the crime situation of the first quarter of this year is more or less the same as what it was in 2019, ie before the COVID-19 situation.
Chris Tang, Secretary for Security, HKSAR
“Regarding the increase in the number of crimes (in Q1), basically, there are two major reasons.”
First of all, there was an upsurge in deception cases, which is about 65 percent higher than the same period last year, said the secretary for security.
Total 8,886 deception cases were logged during the quarter, which accounts for over 40 percent of the total number of crimes, he added.
He pointed out that the increase in the crime rate is also associated with the COVID-19 epidemic, particularly when strict social distancing measures came to an end.
“For the first three months of last year when the COVID-19 epidemic was at its highest, there were stringent social distancing measures in place and there were not many people on the streets. So, that is the reason why cases like robbery, burglary and theft – that normally happen in the streets – the number had been significantly reduced in the first three months of last year.”
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“Actually, when we look at the crime figures, discounting the deception cases, the crime situation of the first quarter of this year is more or less the same as what (it was) in 2019, ie before the COVID-19 situation,” Tang added.