Budget cuts blamed for lower rate of crime solving
Officers and lawmakers fear services will be overstretched
Frontline police officers and legislators yesterday expressed concerns that budget cuts have undermined the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies, citing how the crime-solving rate has plummeted 11 per cent in 10 years.
Tony Liu Kit-ming, chairman of the Local Inspectors' Association, said the drop in the detection rate to 39.2 per cent last year, from 50.2 per cent in 1994, was largely due to budget reductions for the police force.
The crime detection rate was revealed on Thursday when Police Commissioner Dick Lee Ming-kwai also reported that crime reports rose 16.5 per cent to an eight-year high last year, with 88,377 cases. The surge was attributed to the rise in quick-cash crimes such as pickpocketing.
Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong yesterday said the rise in quick-cash crimes might be related to the poor economy. More than 30 per cent of those arrested for shoplifting were unemployed.
He said it was inappropriate to refer to the one-year figure in looking for a reason for the fall in the detection rate.
Chief Inspector Liu said the surge in quick-cash crimes, which were difficult to crack, might have affected the detection rate.
But he said a reduced police force budget was one of the main reasons for the drop in the detection rate. 'It would be a lie to say the budget cut has no impact at all,' he said.
The force - which some officers have said is already understaffed - needs to reduce numbers by 900 to meet a 2.5 per cent budget slash for the 2004-05 financial year.
The cut is necessary if it is to meet a required 11 per cent reduction in five years.
Chief Inspector Liu, already worried about the 2.5 per cent cut, said he was concerned about how the police force would reduce its budget a further 8.5 per cent.
Chief Inspector Robin Tse Shu-chun, chairman of the Superintendents' Association, disagreed that budget cuts were directly related to the drop in the detection rate, although he said police officers' workload had increased in the past two years.
But he said that while reduced resources in recent years had so far not affected frontline manpower, he was worried a further cut would affect service quality.
Sergeant Lau Kam-wah, chairman of the Junior Police Officers' Association, also said he was concerned more cuts would affect services.
Legislator Cheung Man-kwong questioned the effect of budget cuts on crime detection. 'You may explain that the rise in crime last year was related to the poor economy,' Mr Cheung told Mr Lee. 'But you can't explain why the detection rate dropped last year.'
