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Lana Lam

With an average of 5.3 million people packing into the city's trains every day, the latest police figures have shown a surprising drop in pickpocketing but a rise in cases of upskirt photography.
Pickpocketing, however, remains the most common crime reported on the train system, followed by indecent assault.
MTR facilities are now fitted out with more than 4,000 surveillance cameras - on station platforms, at entrances and inside train carriages.
It was an overt approach to security, a spokeswoman said, with notices to let passengers know they were being monitored.
The footage was also used for "carrying out post-incident investigations", she added.
About 380 officers form the railway police team.
In addition, the MTR Corporation's public awareness campaigns alerting passengers to pickpockets appear to be working despite a recent gaffe that resulted in the railway operator having to change a poster after it drew complaints about the depiction of the thief.
In 2011, the number of train passengers who fell victim to thieves peaked at 322, but that dropped to 264 in 2012. Last year, 211 such cases were recorded.
And from January to September this year, there have been 135 cases of pickpocketing.
But upskirt photography increased, with 110 cases last year compared with 101 in 2012. This year, 87 such cases have been reported.
Incidents of indecent assault, shop theft and criminal damage, meanwhile, remained steady.
The total number of crimes reported to the railway police dropped to 1,190 last year, from 1,238 in 2012. In the first nine months of this year, 796 crimes on the trains were reported.
Last year, 195 cases of indecent assault were reported - just down from 197 in 2012. Some 111 such cases have been reported so far this year.
The railway police received 148 cases of shop theft last year, compared with 144 in 2012.
Three rail lines - Disneyland Resort, Ma On Shan and West Rail - are now fully installed with CCTV-monitored train compartments, while the East Rail Line is similarly equipped on some trains. All new trains purchased would also be fitted with the security cameras, the MTR Corp said.
Neither the company nor the police would reveal which stations were crime hot spots, but previous reports showed Kowloon Tong, Central, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui were the most popular stations for pickpockets.


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The amended poster (left) and the original. Photos: SMP Pictures

The amended poster (left) and the original.Photos: SMP Pictures

News

Hong Kong

Latest figures show a rise in cases of upskirt photography and a drop in pickpocketing - but it's still the most common crime on the trains


With an average of 5.3 million people packing into the city's trains every day, the latest police figures have shown a surprising drop in pickpocketing but a rise in cases of upskirt photography.
