Reducing Crime in Hong Kong

Reducing Crime in Hong Kong
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Introduction
Currently, China has one of the leading and fast growing economies in the world. Since the 1978 reforms on the economic strategies, China now uses a market based system that has seen the country grow rapidly. The economy and the social development are clearly indicated by the GDP growth, in which the World Bank averages to be about 10% at an annual rate. This has led to the uplifting of more than 500 million people being lifted from their abject poverty (Gaylord, Gittings & Traver, 2009). Of all the millennium development goals only a few of them have not been achieved and most of them are within reach. Although the country boasts of a great leap in the economic realms, there are quite a number of persons that are living under the poverty line. According to the World Bank, China has the second highest percentage of people living under the poverty line. It comes second after India which is leading in this category. As such poverty level is one of the aspects the government of China is trying to improve. Other than that there is the aspect of crime rates that can be a hindrance to economic growth (Choi & Lo 2003).
The center of the economic growth is Hong Kong one of the biggest cities in the republic of China. Located on the southern coast of China, Hong Kong started off as a coastal island. Surrounded by the Pearl River delta, the city boasts of one of the deepest harbors and the land mass is approximately 1,100 square kilometers (Barbosa, 2014). This is a city that takes up some of the most fundamental administrative aspects of the country. With the Chinese being the majority of the ethnic community living in the city, it is also rated as one of the most populated cities in the world today (Gaylord & Traver, 1994). With the rapid economic growth experienced in the country, there have been a few challenges that are associated with the fast ascendance. Some of the common problems that are associated with the fast ascendance include, environmental issues of sustainability, demographics pressure from the aging population, rapid urbanization, high rates of inequality and crime rates soaring (Ho, 2011). This paper tries to evaluate the crime aspect in Hong Kong, and brings attention to the sustainable strategies that can be used to reduce the rate of crime in the city and its environs.
Effects of Crime on the Economy
Crime is one of the major aspects of the urban societies. As Hong Kong grows relative to the Chinese economy, it is expected that crimes related to the economic imbalance in the society, will also be on the rise. There are costs that are associated with the crimes with respect to material and immaterial aspects of the victims involved (Wacks, 1999). Persons affected may have to deal with loss of life sometimes and in most cases loss of their assets. This may be an additional cost after the individuals have invested in heavy locking mechanisms and security personnel. At that same time the relevant authorities have to spend extra on the budget as they try to bring the level of crime down. Billions of dollars are used in the establishments of jails, rehabilitation centers and increased salaries for all the officers that have to handle the offenders (Gaylord & Traver, 1994).
At the same time the level of investment will be affected negatively, as most of the investors will avoid the city for initial investment or additional investments. In most of the cities across the world where there are sporadic incidences of crime, the costs run into the billions of dollars. This comes as a result of the costs to the individuals, businesses closing down and relocating, tourism levels plummeting, poor social life and ideally stunted growth of the society in question (Barbosa, 2014). Even the crimes that are deemed to be without victims such as gabbling, alcohol and drug abuse have a great effect on the productivity of the person involved and this has a ripple effect on the family and then the society. This could explain why the subject of economy and crime relations has elicited much interest in most of the scholars rendering the topic one of the most studied. It is evident that, crime has great impact on the lives of the persons living in the crime hotspots and this spreads to all areas of their lives (Gaylord, Gittings & Traver, 2009). It is with this subtle magnitude of crime on the society in mind, that this paper tries to establish the crimes in Hong Kong, their trend and proposes on how best these crimes can be brought under control using sustainable strategies.
Crime Prevalence in Hong Kong
Within the region it is established that Hong Kong has one of the highest rates of imprisonment if compared to places such as Singapore, Thailand, Mongolia, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (Broadhurst, 2014). It is within the general knowledge domain that every other society that has been in a position to control crime to low levels, rendering the streets secure and safe with sustainable environment management are more civilized and advanced in more ways than one. Using rational economic terms, the rule of law, when upheld attracts more investors than it deters (Barbosa, 2014). Being one of the most populated cities in the world, Hong Kong supports relatively large private and public policing establishments. Ideally these are institutions that are supposed to help maintain law and order in and around the city. The annual government expenditure, for the last two decades has been rated at 12% with close reference to the maintenance of security in the city (Ho, 2011). This is an expenditure that is only exceeded by the amount of money spent on education and health services provision (BBC News, 2014).
While the city has tried hiring more policemen to the force, there is still a considerable gap that remains, especially with the ratio of one policeman to the number of citizens they should be watching over. Currently the ratio is well below that of Russia and Singapore (Palmiotto, 1999). However, it is above that of the USA, Canada, Australia, Denmark and some of the Asian counterparts such as Malaysia and the Philippines (Ho, 2011).
According to the surveys that are regularly conducted by the Hong Kong police and the Independent Commission of Corruption, the public is rather confident about the police ability to bring crime down. However, when other surveys are conducted especially related to the victims of the crimes perpetrated in the city, there is a different picture painted of the police and their ability to deal with crime (Lincoln.ne.gov, 2014). It is common practice to have the government carry out surveys that are positive in light of the economic stability that it seeks. As such, most of the reports that are produced by government agencies across the world can be subject to skewed data, as they try to bring out the aspect of safety, public order and the predictability of the law (Gaylord & Traver, 1994).
Most of the concerns that take the center stage for the inhabitants of Hong Kong are housing, environmental degradation, health, unemployment, immigration, education and the economy. However, at the district levels there are grieve concerns by the public about violent youth gangs, who are involved in some of the most common crimes around the city such as vandalism, theft, fraudulent practices, assault among other violent crimes. The aspect of crime prevalence is quite tricky depending on the source of information assessed in Hong Kong (Broadhurst, 2014). The official measures of crime are subject to the threat the surveys could have on the public order, revenues and the safety of the citizens. The accuracy of the reports is sometimes inaccurate as there are some crimes that are hidden and other go unreported. A critical analysis of the trends of crime within the city of Hong Kong will reveal that due to the changes in the recording practices the information is disjointed. The classification of the offences and the counting means are also to blame for the inaccuracy of the information available to the public on crime (Ho, 2011). The courts have minimal data recorded about the crimes. At the same time while the police seem to have the records of the crimes committed, other agencies such as the immigration, ICAC, customs and excise have little or no records. It is also common to find that some of the crimes that are regarded as minor or misdemeanor are not recorded.
Sentencing Options
Depending on the type of crime that one has committed, there are different penalties that are implemented. The court decides on the best penalty to go with the offense after considering the nature of the offense, the penalty stipulated in the legislation, how and why the offense was carried out as well as the individual circumstance that the offender was in (Peak & Glensor, 2012). Some of the sentencing outcomes/ penalties that the offender may have to contend with after conviction are imprisonment. Given that the death penalty was abolished, imprisonment is the heaviest of penalties. This involves incarceration according to rule 69 of the Cap. 234A of Hong Kong Laws. Depending on the conduct of the prisoner, the term can be reduced but the reduction cannot exceed a third of the actual imprisonment term (Ho, 2011).
It is also common for offenders to be sentenced to a suspended sentence. In this case the court decides that the offender will not serve the jail time at the time of conviction. However, if they repeat the offence within the time given, they will be jailed. The option is common with the petty offences, and does not apply to more grievous offences such as homicide, assault, robbery among others. All the offences that cannot be ruled with a suspended sentence are included in the 3rd Schedule of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Schneider, 2006). In other cases the offender is released without any penalty. This only happens in the petty offences where the court may deem the penalties inexpedient. Under section 36, the magistrate may decide to let the offender go away after considering their offence, age, circumstances, health of the offender, mental status of the offender at the time of the crime (Gaylord, Gittings & Traver, 2009).
Binding over is also one of the outcomes that is common with the cases at ...