- Chief Inspector Choi Wing-yuk says Mong Kok is hotspot for thefts, pointing to ‘high foot traffic’ in area
- Police record 7,167 theft cases and 27,911 crimes in total between January and April
Wallets or credit cards, cash and Octopus stored-value cards were among the most common items stolen by pickpockets, followed by mobile phones. Photo: Yik Yeung-manCases of theft in Hong Kong rose by nearly 40 per cent in the first four months of the year over the same period in 2022, with police attributing the surge to the city’s return to post-Covid normality.
Most of the latest thefts took place in Mong Kok, which Chief Inspector Choi Wing-yuk of the crime prevention bureau said was not surprising “given the high foot traffic in the area”.
The force recorded 7,167 thefts between January and April, an increase of 39.4 per cent over the year before.
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“As society returns to normal, we are seeing more people on the streets in general,” Choi said.
Hong Kong dropped the last of its Covid-19 travel restrictions and social-distancing rules earlier this year after remaining largely closed off since 2020.
According to the force, the city recorded 27,911 total crimes in the first four months of the year, up 44 per cent from the 19,379 recorded the year before.
The trend continued into May, taking overall crime for the first five months to 35,863, or 10,434 more than the number recorded over the same period last year.
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Among them, 3,872 were considered violent crimes – 598 more than in 2022.
Choi also revealed that wallets or credit cards, cash and Octopus stored-value cards were among the most common items stolen by pickpockets, followed by mobile phones.
Parked bicycles were also in the top three items taken by thieves, with Choi pointing out that many were secured with flimsy locks that could be easily removed.
She urged owners to choose thicker, higher quality locks.
The latest numbers included 2,498 shoplifting cases, compared with 1,915 last year in the same four-month period, and 2,369 in 2019 before the pandemic.
Supermarkets recorded the most cases, at 999, but Choi said this could be linked to them being the most common type of store in the city.
Store managers have been advised to designate staff members to watch over customers using increasingly common self-service checkouts, as a number of recent shoplifting cases involved people failing to scan all their items and hoping it goes unnoticed.
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The force said it had resumed a regular security workshop with retailers, which aimed to educate them on how to prevent theft and burglary.
The workshop was held roughly every six months before the pandemic but was halted for several years due to Covid measures.
Steve Mok, who runs a vehicle repair shop in To Kwa Wan, was one of the 50 store owners who attended the most recent session this week.
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“The event was very useful, and we learned a lot,” he said. “We realised that, apart from well-known methods like installing basic security cameras and locking up your valuable products in special display boxes, there are newer, more technologically advanced tools, such as infrared surveillance systems and motion detectors that are available on the market.”
Meanwhile, the force’s Sai Kung division said it had carried out special operations with other departments such as the Government Flying Service, marine police and dog units to search and patrol areas where people entering the city tended to hide.
It said the operation was conducted “in view of the recent increase in the number of burglary cases in the district”, and urged residents to work with police and stay vigilant.