London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Hong Kong police send out detectives for patrols as anti-government protests lead to crime surge

CID officers join beat colleagues on the streets to tackle rise in reported burglaries and robberies during the civil unrest. Senior officer says police need a ‘better patrol plan’ with resources stretched

Plain-clothes detectives have joined beat officers on patrol in response to a crime surge in Hong Kong, as offenders cash in on the diversion of police resources for the city’s anti-government protests.

Burglary reports increased by 44 per cent from the first 11 months of 2018 to the same period last year, while robberies went up 28 per cent, according to police figures released earlier.

Most of the cases came after the social unrest broke out in June last year, sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.

Tsang Chung-bun, assistant commander of Yau Tsim district, where burglary reports for the second half of 2019 hit a five-year high, said it was inevitable that protests would take their toll on police resources.

“But we need a better patrol plan within stretched manpower,” he said.

“Many districts have been mapping out solutions which include sending crime investigation department (CID) officers to the street, including me.

“Officers from the anti-triad unit used to focus on cracking down on gangs but now they have to do everything, including patrol and investigation … plain-clothes CID officers patrol together with beat officers to boost manpower, as officers are prone to attacks.”

The superintendent himself has been seen on the streets. He was stationed in Harbour City mall in Tsim Sha Tsui with his undercover team on December 21, when several hundred masked protesters were on the roam.

Tsang said the Yau Tsim district, which covers Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui, was “severely trashed” during months of protests, which he claimed had affected wider crime levels in the area.

Of the 204 burglary cases in the district last year, 151 took place in the third and fourth quarters, with a similar trend for robberies.

Explaining the surge, Tsang said Tsim Sha Tsui police stations were subjected to serious attacks in the summer, requiring officers to defend buildings even as manpower was needed for dealing with protesters on the streets.

Tsang said some criminals had become emboldened by a wave of criminality that he said could not simply be solved by police and 24-hour patrols, as he cited the “broken windows” theory, which states that a backdrop of crime and antisocial behaviour encourages further offending.

“Especially for youngsters, they might think they would have the same luck to get away with crime after seeing other criminals flee successfully. So they could choose to steal … as people ‘do not need to obey rules any more’.”

Tsang also noted that some culprits were very young – a trend he described as “very worrying” – and said he believed many were being exploited by criminals.

He admitted officers faced difficulties in cracking cases such as burglaries and robberies because of the widespread destruction of CCTV cameras during protests and increasingly negative attitudes to police making the public less cooperative.

Earlier this month, the force tracked down three teens accused of snatching HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) in cash from a mainland Chinese man in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The trio, all 16, were suspected – along with another individual – of attacking a jewellery shop employee, 39, on Chatham Road South, near Mody Road.

The youths, believed to have been lured with cash into committing the crime by a mastermind, made off with a suitcase the victim was carrying, containing HK$10 million worth of US, British, European and Canadian currency.

A HK$15 million robbery in November was the largest single crime of its type seen in the district. Three mainland men had their cash-filled suitcase stolen by a group of six wielding a knife and a wooden rod, also in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Hong Kong has been gripped by more than seven months of social unrest sparked by opposition to draft legislation that would have allowed the extradition of suspects to mainland China, among other jurisdictions.

The protests have developed into a broader anti-government movement with demands including restarting the city’s stalled political reform process.

Demonstrations have repeatedly ended in clashes between anti-government protesters and police.



Hong Kong police handled 2,056 reports of burglary in the first 11 months of 2019, up from 1,428 in the same period of 2018.
About 60 per cent of the cases took place in the second half of the year, following the outbreak of the protests.

Robberies also rose to 170 over the same timescale in 2019, from 133 a year earlier. Nearly three-quarters of those crimes last year were committed from June.

Members of the public have blamed a lack of patrols for the soaring figures.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×