Juvenile Crime (8 February 2006)

MR JAMES TIEN (in Chinese): President, recently, a number of juveniles were arrested allegedly for serious offences such as robbery, criminal intimidation, criminal damage and wounding, and so on, with the youngest one being 11 years old only. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the number of juveniles arrested in each of the past three years, and the percentage of such juveniles in all the persons arrested, broken down by the category of offences allegedly committed by them;

(b) whether it has looked into the causes of juvenile crime and ascertained if there is a trend of juveniles committing offences at a younger age; if it has, of the results; and

(c) of the measures to curb juvenile crime?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Chinese): President,

(a) The number of juveniles arrested in 2003 to 2005, and the percentage of such juveniles in all the persons arrested, broken down by the category of offences allegedly committed by them, are
set out at the Annex.

(b) The Administration has been keeping under review various studies on the causes of crime, including juvenile crime, and has taken them into account in designing its crime prevention and education efforts. These causes range from personal reasons to the social environment. As seen from the figures at the Appendix, there does not appear to be a discernible increasing trend of juvenile crime. There is also no such indication that crimes are increasingly being committed at a younger age.

(c) Our strategy is to deter first-time offenders and to reduce recidivism. For juvenile offenders, the Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme (PSDS) has been implemented for years. The PSDS emphasizes corrective supervision rather than criminal sanction.

In addition, depending on the young offender's welfare needs, he/she may be referred to the Police Juvenile Protection Section (JPS), Social Welfare Department (SWD), Education and Manpower Bureau and Community Support Service Scheme for follow-up social services.

As for unruly children below 10 years of age coming to their attention, the police have already established a direct referral mechanism with both the SWD and Education and Manpower Bureau to strengthen support measures for them. Depending on their needs, the police would refer the unruly children for support services. A Youth Services Information Leaflet (YSIL) will also be served on the parents/guardians of these children and the police would refer the appropriate parties to the JPS for follow-up service. Moreover, in order to contain any triad infiltration and minimize the
adverse effects of juvenile crimes on students, district anti-triad squads and other front-line police officers have continued to conduct anti-crime operations at crime black spots and known places of frequent by youths.

As far as prevention is concerned, the Administration adopts a multi-agency approach. For example, the Police Secondary School Liaison Officers (SSLOs) and School Liaison Officers (SLOs) maintain liaison with the school management. The police and Education and Manpower Bureau have also organized the "The Smart Teen Challenge Programme". The Junior Police Call (JPC) is another effective anti-juvenile crime prevention scheme. The Administration will continue to closely monitor the trend of juvenile crime in this area, and will adjust its strategies if necessary to ensure that the problem is handled with the most effective means.

Annex

Table 1: Number of arrested persons under the age of 18

2003 2004 2005
(A) No. of arrested persons (all ages) 42 051 42 991 40 804
(B) No. of arrested persons under the age of 18 7 918 7 566 6 821
Percentage of (B) over (A) 18.8 % 17.6% 16.7 %

Table 2: Major offences committed by arrested persons under the age of 18

Offence 2003 2004 2005
Shop theft 2 002 1 802 1 659
Miscellaneous theft 1 284 1 459 1 413
Wounding/serious assault 1 218 1 156 1 082
Robbery 619 544 329
Triad offences 249 249 256
Serious narcotics offences 177 148 105
Other offences @ 2 369 2 208 1 977
Total 7 918 7 566 6 821

@ Other offences include arson, blackmail, burglary, criminal damage, disorderly
conduct/fighting in public place, indecent assault, possession of offensive weapon,
murder and manslaughter, unlawful sexual intercourse, and so on.