Hong Kong police vow to boost efforts targeting crime committed by youngsters

Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee also called on the public to work together to impress on youngsters the importance of following the law, adding the force would distribute 50,000 anti-crime booklets to schools and groups from Tuesday.

“Among all crimes committed by people between the ages of 10 and 20, we have noticed a remarkable increase in fraud and money laundering,” he said.

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According to police figures, the number of arrested youngsters between those ages in the first half this year rose to 1,529, a 22.8 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2022.

The force attributed the increase to the return of normality following the lifting of pandemic-related social-distancing curbs earlier this year.

But Siu noted the number was still lower than the average annual figure of 1,710 over the past 10 years.

A total of 113 youngsters were arrested for money laundering in the first half of this year, 26 more than those detained in the whole 2022.

Calling the increase “worthy of public attention”, police said the youngsters were lured into lending their bank accounts to criminals for fraud-related activities.

The number of young people arrested for fraud also surged by 112.7 per cent from 102 in the first six months of 2022 to 217 over the same period this year.

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Siu said the force had made efforts to tackle the crime, including sharing anti-fraud material on different media platforms, but he questioned whether people were actually watching or listening to the advice.

“Many skip the materials as they believe they will not fall victim to being deceived into committing fraud. There will be new kinds of fraud from time to time and if you’re not well-informed, you might fall into the traps,” he said.

He stressed that tackling fraud required more than just law enforcement action, saying society needed to work together to instil awareness among youngsters in the city.

The force logged a drop in the number of young people arrested for serious drug offences and debt collection activities between the first half of 2023 and the same period last year.

Ninety-nine youngsters were arrested for serious drug offences between January and June this year compared with 145 in the same period in 2022. Among them, 22 were students, representing a 52.2 per cent decrease compared with last year.

The number of juveniles arrested for debt collection activities dropped by 40 per cent from 89 in the first half of 2022 to 53 this year.

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The anti-crime booklet this year covers five areas – money laundering, fraud, online dating traps, bullying and triad-related offences. Each section describes a real-life account, related laws and court rulings and offers tips to parents and teachers on how to educate teenagers and spot warning signs. This year marks the second time police have published the document.

The force’s public relations wing will distribute 50,000 booklets on Tuesday to 1,000 primary and secondary schools, 20 sponsoring bodies, public libraries and about 200 youth service centres.

Senior Superintendent Leung Chung-man of the public relations wing said different schools and stakeholders had praised the booklet, prompting the force to release an additional 10,000 copies this year.

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An online version of the document will be uploaded to the websites of the force, the Education Bureau and Hong Kong Education City.

Police have also made five anti-crime videos to explain the consequences of committing crimes and how to avoid becoming entangled in illegal activities. They have also prepared teaching materials for instructors looking for more ways to inform youngsters.

“We need to educate them while they are young. We have to work together in order to have a positive impact in the long run,” Siu said.