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How Safe is Hong Kong, Exactly?

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by JMorrison:
    As a counsellor,,,, my guess is that you worked with locals, from broken families, in the less-than-affluent neighbourhoods and ethnic minorities, and it is no secret, that violence is not, unknown to them. I think it is true, what they say here that MOST, violent crimes here,, involve parties known to each other,,, such as friends family & relatives.

    Even on this level I would say,, without much information at hand as opposed to what you must have ready access to, HK is a safe city, AND safer by miles than most,, other cities of this kind around the world.
    OP, Janet Gilson was related to her attacker. Almost every day, I read at least one report in the news of domestic violence. The rapist in question, earlier in the year, happened to be an opportunist with ego issues. One of my employees in Australia came from northern China, along with her husband. Shortly after arriving, her husband began to emotionally abuse her, then it became physical. Then his family joined in with the abuse. Eventually, she left him and began a new life, but for others, it isn't that easy. Often children and other family are involved, lack of money etc.

    Still, domestic violence and crime is not restricted to the financially struggling. It occurs in wealthy couples/families, too.

    As for HK being a safe city, I would have to agree it is in many forms. I have lived in some rough parts of the UK and never got mugged or attacked during the times I lived there. In fact, so safe places to live, Australia was the worst.
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  2. #12

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    Everywhere has since crime but HK definitely is on the low end. I feel completely safe walking the streets here at any time of night. Can't say the same for Australia. But I think HK has a lot of domestic crime, both violent and sexual that seems to go ignored.


  3. #13

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    I feel safer walking the streets of HK than DT Vancouver and for the most part feel pretty safe in Van.

    But young people in HK are not like western youths with chips on their shoulders out looking for fights so in a bar area in HK you are not likely to bang into someone and get into an altercation.

    Last edited by Football16; 30-12-2011 at 02:26 PM.

  4. #14

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    OP: since you work as a counsellor isn't it normal that many of your clients are victims? Likewise if you were working in health care you would be seeing many people with health problems; would it make sense to claim that HKers are unhealthy?


  5. #15

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    OP: For reported crime, official statistics are available:

    Hong Kong Police Force - Crime Statistics Comparison

    Personal view - HK is safer than anywhere I've ever lived (including big cities and small towns) and to me it feels that way. However, also understand that domestic/ family related crimes are underreported, as is crime/ abuse against domestic helpers.

    Last edited by hello_there; 30-12-2011 at 02:33 PM.
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  6. #16

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    Yeap, safer in HK than most large cities in the west.

    I think the biggest thing is in the west there is alot more violent crime than in HK.


  7. #17

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    There seems to be very little random street crime here, which is more than one can say about most major cities. I feel safe on the MTR trains past midnight and do not fear getting mugged or dragged into some back alley to be chopped to bits for my Octopus card and crumpled up 20 dollar notes in my pockets, compared to say Gastown in Vancouver, which is just East of the downtown area by the waterfront.

    Major problems around public security here would be:
    Triad activity - would be odd if this were carried out in broad daylight, and I'd say that it seldom does.
    Domestic abuse/violence - ironically, mostly outside of the public sphere, so it's very much a security issue, just not one that directly impacts the public.


  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by JMorrison:
    As a counsellor,,,, my guess is that you worked with locals, from broken families, in the less-than-affluent neighbourhoods and ethnic minorities, and it is no secret, that violence is not, unknown to them. I think it is true, what they say here that MOST, violent crimes here,, involve parties known to each other,,, such as friends family & relatives.
    I primarily worked with the non-chinese community, actually, but i suppose you're right about the fact that most violent crime here does involve parties known to each other...

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Drunken Master:
    OP: since you work as a counsellor isn't it normal that many of your clients are victims?
    haha, of course, but my point was that we often assume that there isn't all that much crime in hong kong, but the fact that i saw so many victims goes to show that the picture is a bit different... as most everyone's said here though (and i agree), hk is a relatively safe place in comparison to many of its sister cities

  10. #20

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    I definitely feel safer in HK, I have been here a year and half, I havent been mugged, involved in any fights, or any verbal arguments. It's almost kind of boring. The most "negative" thing I experienced was a bit of rudeness like queue jumping. Also as a BBC I got less racial abuse/remarks than compared back in London...oh wait...

    Last edited by WMDS; 31-12-2011 at 05:13 PM.
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