Police bid to turn page on spiraling crimes of youths

Ayra Wang

The police have released a new edition of a youth crime prevention booklet, addressing issues such as cyber scams, theft and robbery.

Police commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee said the release comes in response to a significant increase in arrests that has seen a 56-percent rise in youngsters being hauled in for miscellaneous thefts in the first half.

In terms of all crimes, 1,541 youths aged 10 to 20 were arrested in that period, marking a 0.8-percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Siu noted that the sharp rise in arrests primarily involved crimes such as scams and shop and miscellaneous thefts.

Siu said arrests for shop theft increased by 28.9 percent, reaching 125, while some 160 youths were arrested for miscellaneous thefts, which surged by 56.9 percent.

"Cyber crimes are also one of the biggest concerns," he said, adding that more youngsters are being exploited to commit online crimes, a trend he expects to continue.

"The most typical case," Siu added "is that young people are used by scammers to collect money from victims, with the perpetrators never revealing to them the consequences" of their participation in such criminal activity.

The third version of the youth crime prevention booklet, released today, includes information on five common juvenile crimes, such as cyber scams, deep fakes, cyber sexual crimes, frauds and thefts.

Real cases, crime statistics and verdicts are also featured.

The police have printed 50,000 copies, which will be distributed to primary and secondary schools, sponsoring bodies and children and youth services institutions. Five related videos will also be shared with schools this month.

Raymond Kong Ho-man, a program adviser at the department of curriculum and instruction at Education University, said the booklet provides teachers with "good first-hand material" to alert students about crimes.

"The police have the most up-to-date crime statistics and cases," he said, adding the booklet "can directly show the consequences of lawbreaking and convey the anti-crime message more effectively."

Starting this month, 20 schools will hold trial classes using the teaching material available in both Chinese and English. The public will be able to access the booklet at libraries and online, Kong said.