BIZCHINA / Biz Life
HK among world's safest cities
By Nicole Wong (China Daily HK Edition)
Updated: 2006-10-08 10:13
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 per cent Hong Kong respondents came across
burglary in 2005, in comparison to 1.7 per cent in Sweden and 2.7 per
cent in the United States. About 2.2 per cent Hong Kong car owners
encountered theft from their cars, versus 3.1 per cent in Japan and 4.2
per cent in England and Wales.
The survey found 3.6 per cent Hong Kong respondents experienced personal
theft in 2005, while the figures stood at 6.5 per cent in Australia and
5.3 in Poland. Only 1.2 per cent Hong Kong males and females suffered
personal assaults, contrasting the 6.1 per cent in England and Wales and
6.4 per cent in Australia.
The overall crime victimization was fairly insignificant in Hong Kong
last year, as only 8 per cent 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 per
cent respondents experienced it through various channels last year,
including shopping and telecommunications. The figure stood much higher
than that in Japan (2.3 per cent) or Canada (7.5), and was only second to
Cambodia (34 per cent).
1 2
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
Alibaba is the largest B2B marketplace in the world. Source model ship,
wooden puzzle, one-piece toilet, RC hovercraft, photo album, prom dress,
pocket bike, Vaginal Speculum, Samurai Sword, String Panty and PVC Pipe.
Chinese Mandarin
