Hong Kong remains one of the safest cities in the world, according to the United Nations International Crime Victim Survey (UNICV) on the Crime Victimization in Hong Kong.

The survey was carried out from February to June 2006, by the HKU Centre for Criminology and Social Sciences Research Centre (SSRC), with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the University of Tilburg's Centre for International Crime Victimization.

A total of 2,283 Hong Kong household members aged 16 or above responded to the computer-assisted telephone interviews.

As the fifth sweep of the UNICV, the 2005/06 survey involved over 30 countries and regions, ranging from South America, Africa, Europe to the Asia Pacific. Participating in the survey for the first time, Hong Kong stands out as a city with a remarkably low crime rate, compared to most other Asian and Western economies.

On property crimes, only 0.4 per cent Hong Kong respondents came across burglary in 2005, in comparison to 1.7 per cent in Sweden and 2.7 per cent in the United States. About 2.2 per cent Hong Kong car owners encountered theft from their cars, versus 3.1 per cent in Japan and 4.2 per cent in England and Wales.

The survey found 3.6 per cent Hong Kong respondents experienced personal theft in 2005, while the figures stood at 6.5 per cent in Australia and 5.3 in Poland. Only 1.2 per cent Hong Kong males and females suffered personal assaults, contrasting the 6.1 per cent in England and Wales and 6.4 per cent in Australia.

The overall crime victimization was fairly insignificant in Hong Kong last year, as only 8 per cent of respondents reported at least one standard crime in 2005, noted Roderic Broadhurst, head of Justice Studies, Queensland University of Technology.

Absence of corruption

"Another significant finding is the absence of corruption in Hong Kong, since none of the respondents reported corruption," said Broadhurst. "It's the first time I witnessed zero corruption in a random survey on crime rate."

Consumer fraud, however, may be on the rise in Hong Kong, since 21 per cent respondents experienced it through various channels last year, including shopping and telecommunications. The figure stood much higher than that in Japan (2.3 per cent) or Canada (7.5), and was only second to Cambodia (34 per cent).

"The high rate may be attributed to the higher awareness of consumer fraud among local customers," said John Bacon Shone, Director of SSRC, HKU. "Hong Kong is a shopping paradise after all, and its consumers should be 'dedicated shoppers'."

On the status of Hong Kong as one of the world's safest cities, a spokesperson from the Security Bureau called the findings "positive", but questioned the definition of consumer fraud in the survey.

"There are many potential definitions of the crime and most of them might be subjective," he said. "For example, can it be considered consumer fraud if a citizen believes he or she has been overcharged in a purchase?"

Corroborating the above statement, Aris Chan, Honorary Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, HKU, also noted that the criteria for consumer fraud may be "mostly subjective".

With the prevalent sense of safety in Hong Kong, about 93 per cent respondents claimed to feel safe while walking around alone after dark, and 94 per cent believed police did a good job in 2005.

Despite the public belief in police performance, however, the reporting rate for certain crimes is low, notably sexual victimization (13.8 per cent) and bicycle theft (8.5 per cent). Twenty-six per cent respondents chose not to report as the crimes were "not serious enough", while 6 per cent quoted "lack of proof" as the reason.

"Most Hong Kong people are pragmatic and consider certain crimes 'trivial'," said Chan. "As for sexual incidents, some people may have vague ideas about sexual harassment and simply drop the cases."

While the majority of local citizens enjoy the city as a safe place, drivers of public transport have expressed concerns about their personal safety during the small hours of the day.

"During a longer ride from the Hong Kong side to New Territories, I'm worried about robbery or even assault if the passenger happens to be male," said a taxi driver in Causeway Bay.

"Even with several passengers on the mini-bus, you never know what will happen," said a mini-bus driver in Tin Hau.