Hong Kong police reported a 30 percent increase in youth-related scam arrests in the first half of this year, noting that some had been exploited due to their naivety.
Police officers say they hope to forestall youth crimes through the latest version of the Youth Crime Prevention Booklet, which aims to help teachers and parents identify the signs of such crimes, and educate them how to handle such situations.
According to the police, 288 people aged between 10 to 20 years old were arrested for fraud during the first six months of this year, showing a 30 percent increase compared to the 217 cases during the same period last year.
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Raymond Siu Chak-yee, commissioner of Police of the Hong Kong Police Force, pointed out that most of these fraud cases involve assisting in collecting money, but there were also cases of renting and selling bank accounts for money laundering.
Siu said the police will request more severe sentences in such cases to strengthen deterrence, and that it aims to raise public awareness through the booklet, which features a range of court cases and judgments.
The latest edition of the booklet outlines five prevalent youth crimes, relevant cases, court rulings and tactics for teachers and parents to prevent young people from committing offenses.
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The police also coordinated with the Education University of Hong Kong to devise a bilingual teaching kit. It has printed 50,000 booklets for distribution to primary and secondary schools and youth service organizations.
Siu noted that the number of criminal cases in schools has risen by about 10 percent in the first six months of this year compared with last year.
He cited an instance of a blackmail case at a secondary school in Tuen Mun, in which seven students aged 12 to 13 were arrested and released on bail pending investigation.
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A total of 1,541 young people aged under 21 were arrested for criminal offenses during the same period, a slight increase of 0.8 percent compared with last year.
The three main types of crimes that recorded an increase were fraud, miscellaneous theft and store theft, with the rate of increase ranging from nearly 29 to 57 percent.
Crimes that recorded decreases include serious drug offenses, criminal damage, and triad-related offenses, with rates of decrease ranging from 12 to 32 percent.
