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The Kowloon East (KE) Regional Crime Prevention Office (RCPO) held the Project SHIELD+ Retail Insights cum Presentation Ceremony on March 31, with over 150 representatives from the retail industry, property management companies and non-governmental organisations as well as Senior Police Call (SPC) members attending.
In her speech, Regional Commander of KE Tse Tsui-yan remarked that crime prevention required the participation of all sectors of society, and that the Force hoped to continue working hand in hand with them to create a safe living environment.
During the event, certificates of appreciation were presented to representatives from the retail industry, property management companies, SideBySide, Food Angel and the Police Psychological Services Group (PSG). Moreover, 43 SPC members previously served as “mystery shoppers”, for assessing anti-theft facilities and frontline staff vigilance in shops were appointed as “SHIELD+ Community Ambassadors” with three members invited to share their experiences at the event.
The RCPO KE upgraded “Project STORESHIELD” to “Project SHIELD+”, and partnered with the PSG for the first time to introduce the concept of “behavioural insights” and the “DEAR crime prevention model” to prevent shoplifting. Furthermore, data showed that around half of those arrested for shoplifting in the Region last year were elderly persons aged 60 and above. To this end, the Force established a referral mechanism with SideBySide and Food Angel to provide psychological counselling and food assistance to the elderly in need, so as to prevent them from committing crimes at the root.
Thanks to the cooperation between the Force and various community sectors, the number of shoplifting cases in the Region decreased by nearly 15 per cent in 2025, which was an encouraging achievement.
