Police boss discusses rash of burglaries along Clear Water Bay Road

^{TKO Police District officers on a search for burglars in Clear Water Bay area}

There are many villages in the Tseung Kwan O Police District. Recently the head of the District Task Force expounded on what factors are considered when the culprits choose the target of a burglary? According to the police, the thieves usually choose low-defence village houses on both sides of the highway. They will lie in ambush near the target for a long time to find out the living habits of the villagers, and then find the right time to sneak in.

The Head of the Tseung Kwan O Police District Task Force, pointed out that the culprits mainly focused on the burglary of village houses on both sides of Clear Water Bay Road because there are dense trees on both sides of the road and the environment is dark, making it easy for them to hide. Statistics show that last year, 91% of rural burglaries occurred in the vicinity of Clear Water Bay Road. Among them, there were 13 cases from Fei Ngo Shan to Silverstrand Bay, and 29 from Silver Cape Road to Po Toi O Chuen. This year, all three cases have occurred near Clear Water Bay Road. The culprits especially target the “three no villages”, that is, no security personnel, no proper lighting and anti-theft systems, and they will target village houses without dogs.

The Inspector said that last year, more than 80% of the culprits committed crimes from 1:00 am to 5:00 am. After a series of anti-burglary operations and publicity by the police, many homeowners installed anti-theft equipment and kept dogs. This year, the culprits changed to the evening. He explained that in the evening, homeowners would mostly eat on the ground floor or on the first floor, and the culprits took the opportunity to sneak into the second floor and commit burglary.

When asked when the peak of burglaries in rural areas will be, he said that from last year’s observations, there will be more burglaries at the beginning of the year, which may be related to the Lunar New Year. After the police adjusted their anti-theft operations and publicity strategies based on relevant data, the number of related cases dropped sharply at the beginning of this year.