In his annual letter to the Chamber, Commissioner of Police Hui Ki-on said that the climate of economic uncertainty and social hardship had had an inevitable effect on both the number and types of crimes committed last year.

"There is continued evidence of a general increase in crimes related to the downturn in the economy, including cases of criminal intimidation related to debt-collecting malpractice and 'quick-cash' crimes such as pick-pocketing and snatching," Mr Hui said.

This pushed up the total number of crimes recorded last year to 76,771, an increase of 6.7 per cent over 1998. However, "growth in the number of crimes for monetary gain, by way of thefts or in connection with forcible collection of debts, had been foreseen and arrangements established to counter them," he said.

Growth in the number of burglaries, bank robberies, incidents involving genuine firearms and serious narcotics cases have slowed, he said, attributing the decline to the police's anti-crime strategy.

Close co-operation with mainland and overseas agencies has been fruitful in narcotics enforcement, resulting in significant seizures of drugs both in Hong Kong and overseas. A total of 319 kg of heroin and 120 kg of "ice" were seized locally and a further 122 kg of heroin, 2,050 kg of "ice" and 95 kg of cocaine were seized overseas following joint operations.

Throughout the year the police force has maintained pressure on triad and organised crime groups in order to restrict their activities. "This has kept the overall proportion of triad related offences to just 3.7 per cent of the overall total," Mr Hui said.