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SCMP Reporter

WE read and hear about crimes being committed every day, here in Hong Kong and in other places.

  But what constitutes crime?   There are various legal and criminological definitions of crime. In Hong Kong, ''crime'' relates to a standard list of serious offences against the criminal law which warrants investigation by the police.

  Offences classified as crimes include wounding, serious assault, blackmail, murder, robbery and violent theft. Other offences such as gambling, hawking, drunkenness and disorderly conduct are not crimes.

  In Hong Kong, crime statistics are compiled based on crime cases known to the police and recorded at each successive stage of criminal administration.

  There are crimes not reported or disclosed to the police. The difference between the number of crimes actually committed and the number recorded is known as the ''dark figure''. The extent of the ''dark figure'' may be ascertained by conducting an independent survey of victims.

  For each reported crime, information relating to three areas is recorded to aid the compilation of crime statistics. These are data relating to the offence, the offender(s) and the victim(s).

 Many offences with which crime statistics are concerned are of a complex nature, giving rise to counting problems.

  For statistical purposes, four main principles are used by the police in counting crimes:   (1) Violent crime against persons.

  In such cases, one crime is counted for each person against whom an offence has been committed (e.g. murder, wounding). Thus a gang of youths attacking four men with knives, killing one and injuring the others would be counted as one offence of murder and three offences of wounding.

  (2) Crime against property or public order.

  In such cases, one crime is counted for each distinct offence. For example, a case where two men armed with pistols who rob a bank with 10 customers inside would be counted as one offence of robbery.

  (3) Crime which is considered a continuous offence if repeated.

  For crimes like blackmail, deception and theft by employees from employers, one crime would be counted for each offence or series of similar offences committed by the same offender/group of offenders on different occasions involving the same victim/groupof victims. Therefore, in the case where three men who blackmailed a shop-owner 10 times in the past three months would be counted as one offence of blackmail.

  (4) Crime associated with other naturally connected offences.

  Due to the nature of the crimes involved, some offences are often linked with another more serious offence. These minor offences are not statistically counted. Suppose a man is arrested for attempting to steal from a vehicle.

 The window of the vehicle has been broken. The man is found in possession of a spanner, chisel and screwdriver. Here, one offence of theft from vehicle would be counted, but no offence of criminal damage (of the window) or offence of possession of instruments for unlawful purposes (in respect of the spanner, chisel, etc) would be counted.

  This set of counting rules is basically in line with that adopted by Britain. Inevitably, some modifications have been made to take into account local circumstances.

  Since many criminal offences involve more than one criminal act, or more than one offender or victim, it is important that the methods of counting and recording crimes are internally consistent, uniform over time and preferably compatible with international practices.

  Judging from the statistics, Hong Kong is by far a much safer place to live than some western societies. In 1992, for every 100,000 population in Hong Kong, there were 2.2 murders, 116.8 serious assaults and 188.6 cases of robbery and violent theft.

  For more information about this article or others presented in these columns, you are welcome to write to the General Statistics Branch (1) of the Census and Statistics Department at Wan Chai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong or call 582-4731.

 For more information about this article or others presented in these columns, you are welcome to write to the General Statistics Branch (1) of the Census and Statistics Department at Wan Chai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong or call 582-4731.



Counting rules sometimes distort statistics on crime