Commissioner Tang King-shing and his senior staff had a candid exchange on law and order matters with the chairpersons of the 18 District Fight Crime Committees (DFCC) at Police Headquarters on August 7. The DFCC chairpersons truly treasured the opportunity to come together in a forum and meet with the police to discuss issues of mutual concern in what proved to be a fruitful experience in engaging the community.

In reporting the law and order situation in the first half of this year, the Commissioner said that it remained stable, and that a 3.9 per cent drop in overall crime had been recorded in the period. He attributed this achievement to the efforts of all members of the Force and the active support and participation of the community in the fight against crime.

In response, the DFCC chairpersons shared their constructive insights into the current situation, and viewed the present policing strategies as very effective. However, some of them expressed their concerns over juvenile delinquency and the abuse of drugs by young people.

Assuring the chairpersons we would spare no effort to address these problems, Mr Tang said the Force was continually enhancing our strategies with new approaches. One was to increase the number of School Liaison Officers to maintain a closer liaison with school principals and teachers. Another approach was for the Narcotics Bureau to step up cyber patrol. The Force's Juvenile Protection Scheme will also be enhanced.

On the problem of vice activities involving young girls, Commercial Crime Bureau's Technology Crime Division has been closely monitoring online crimes of this nature. In tandem with this measure, the police have also stepped up visits to vice establishments and places frequented by young people.

CP also informed the chairpersons that the Force's revised procedures for searching persons in police custody took effect on July 1. He emphasised the "duty of care" responsibility the Force had in respect of the safety of detained persons, and explained that the new procedures were designed to increase transparency, address public concerns over privacy and individual rights, and provide a safeguard to protect officers in case of gratuitous allegations from the public.

In conclusion, CP extended his thanks to DFCC members for their contributions to the community, and gave an assurance that the Police would continue to work very hard to ensure Hong Kong remains one of the safest cities in the world.