Public security improves smoothly in first three quarters

Macao’s public security had improved in the first nine months of the year, with a drop in overall crime and violent crime compared with the same period last year, the Secretary for Security, Mr Cheong Kuok Va, announced. “With the co-operation of the public,’ street crimes’ ” has significantly decreased and the police will continue to monitor closely and act in response to the new characteristics of these crimes,” he said. Mr. Cheong said efforts in fighting street crimes had shown significant results: street robberies dropped from 217 cases to 163 cases and “motorcycle robberies” dropped from 63 cases to 3 cases. He said the police were concerned with a number of Chinese herbal shop burglaries recently and was monitoring the situation. According to the latest statistics, a total of 7,186 crimes were recorded in the first nine months of 2004, a four per cent drop (-296 cases) compared with the same period last year. He said the drops were in offences against the person and property related offences, which had dropped by 4.7% (-86 cases) and 13.8% (-569 cases) respectively. There were 651 cases of violent crime, a drop of 18.7% (-150 cases). The total number of offences against the person was 1,749, among which 1,241 cases were physical offences, a drop of 3.4% (-44 cases). Criminal intimidation had dropped by 6% (-18 cases) while serious physical offences had increased by 8% (up two cases). Among the 3,568 property related cases, 2,073 cases were theft, a drop of 8.3% (-187 cases). Decreases were also recorded in the number of extortion, loan sharking and criminal damage. Robberies also dropped by 37.4% (-157 cases). However, violation of social lives had increases by 59.6%, (up 233 cases), mainly caused by increases in forged documents and using counterfeit currency. According to Mr. Cheong, 221 cases of counterfeit currency were recorded -- 122 of these were related to a single counterfeiting group smashed in a joint operation with Hong Kong and Guangdong Police. Juvenile crimes also increased by 10.4% to l70 cases, involving 107 people.