The overall law and order situation in Hong Kong remained very stable in 2007 with a slight drop of 0.4 per cent in the overall crime, said Commissioner Tang King-shing at a news conference on January 31 when he reviewed last year's crime situation.

He added that a total of 80,796 cases of crime were recorded in 2007, representing a slight drop of 0.4 per cent compared with the 81,125 cases in 2006. The detection rate was 45.6 per cent, a rise of one per cent compared with 2006.

A total of 14,934 cases of violent crime were recorded in 2007, a slight increase of 0.6 per cent over the 14,847 cases in 2006.

Noting that there were increases in narcotics offences (up 30.5 per cent), criminal intimidation (up 16.2 per cent), pick pocketing (up 20.3 per cent) and criminal cases of domestic violence (up 38.3 per cent), Mr Tang emphasised that the Force had spared no efforts in fighting these crimes.

Introducing his operational priorities for this year, Mr Tang said that in addition to the seven priorities adopted in 2007, the Commissioner's Operational Priorities for 2008 also included an eighth priority to highlight the importance of effective police enforcement during the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Events.

"The Police will ensure the equestrian events are held smoothly, in a safe and secure environment for all participants. We will facilitate the effective deployment of resources to manage the events whilst continuing to provide day-to-day police service," he noted.

Also attending the news conference were Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Yam Tat-wing and Deputy Commissioner (Management) Tsang Wai-hung.