Hong Kong remains one of the safest cities in the world,
according to the United Nations International Crime Victim Survey
(UNICV) on the Crime Victimization in Hong Kong.
The survey was carried out from February to June 2006, by the
HKU Centre for Criminology and Social Sciences Research Centre
(SSRC), with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the
University of Tilburg's Centre for International Crime
Victimization.
A total of 2,283 Hong Kong household members aged 16 or above
responded to the computer-assisted telephone interviews.
As the fifth sweep of the UNICV, the 2005/06 survey involved
over 30 countries and regions, ranging from South America, Africa,
Europe to the Asia Pacific. Participating in the survey for the
first time, Hong Kong stands out as a city with a remarkably low
crime rate, compared to most other Asian and Western economies.
On property crimes, only 0.4 percent Hong Kong respondents came
across burglary in 2005, in comparison to 1.7 percent in Sweden and
2.7 percent in the United States. About 2.2 percent Hong Kong car
owners encountered theft from their cars, versus 3.1 percent in
Japan and 4.2 percent in England and Wales.
The survey found 3.6 percent Hong Kong respondents experienced
personal theft in 2005, while the figures stood at 6.5 percent in
Australia and 5.3 in Poland. Only 1.2 percent Hong Kong males and
females suffered personal assaults, contrasting the 6.1 percent in
England and Wales and 6.4 percent in Australia.
The overall crime victimization was fairly insignificant in Hong
Kong last year, as only 8 percent of respondents reported at least
one standard crime in 2005, noted Roderic Broadhurst, head of
Justice Studies, Queensland University of Technology.
Absence of corruption
"Another significant finding is the absence of corruption in
Hong Kong, since none of the respondents reported corruption," said
Broadhurst. "It's the first time I witnessed zero corruption in a
random survey on crime rate."
Consumer fraud, however, may be on the rise in Hong Kong, since
21 percent respondents experienced it through various channels last
year, including shopping and telecommunications. The figure stood
much higher than that in Japan (2.3 percent) or Canada (7.5
percent), and was only second to Cambodia (34 percent).
"The high rate may be attributed to the higher awareness of
consumer fraud among local customers," said John Bacon Shone,
Director of SSRC, HKU. "Hong Kong is a shopping paradise after all,
and its consumers should be 'dedicated shoppers'."
On the status of Hong Kong as one of the world's safest cities,
a spokesperson from the Security Bureau called the findings
"positive", but questioned the definition of consumer fraud in the
survey.
"There are many potential definitions of the crime and most of
them might be subjective," he said. "For example, can it be
considered consumer fraud if a citizen believes he or she has been
overcharged in a purchase?"
Corroborating the above statement, Aris Chan, Honorary Assistant
Professor at the Department of Sociology, HKU, also noted that the
criteria for consumer fraud may be "mostly subjective".
With the prevalent sense of safety in Hong Kong, about 93 per
cent respondents claimed to feel safe while walking around alone
after dark, and 94 per cent believed police did a good job in
2005.
Despite the public belief in police performance, however, the
reporting rate for certain crimes is low, notably sexual
victimization (13.8 percent) and bicycle theft (8.5 percent).
Twenty-six percent respondents chose not to report as the crimes
were "not serious enough", while 6 percent quoted "lack of proof"
as the reason.
"Most Hong Kong people are pragmatic and consider certain crimes
'trivial'," said Chan. "As for sexual incidents, some people may
have vague ideas about sexual harassment and simply drop the
cases."
While the majority of local citizens enjoy the city as a safe
place, drivers of public transport have expressed concerns about
their personal safety during the small hours of the day.
"During a longer ride from the Hong Kong side to New
Territories, I'm worried about robbery or even assault if the
passenger happens to be male," said a taxi driver in Causeway
Bay.
"Even with several passengers on the mini-bus, you never know
what will happen," said a mini-bus driver in Tin Hau.
(China Daily October 7, 2006)