This is a question I am often asked.
Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world. Fact. I really mean safe and that covers kids, young adults, single women, the elderly and just your average person.
We have in excess of 25,000 Police Officers in Hong Kong and they are very visible on our streets, they are competent and professional and the vast majority can communicate easily in English.
It is also a fact that Hong Kong has crime, every village, town and city in the world has crime, but as a visitor you need not worry about being mugged and even pick pocketing is rare, given that even bus drivers and 75% of the passengers on a bus wear a Rolex no one is going to lop your hand off to get your watch.
- As usual common sense applies, most people can sense danger and if you do, walk away quickly.
- Walking the streets at night is never a problem, our streets are well lit (neon signs anyone!) and crowded and there are Uniformed and Plain Clothed Police everywhere and yes, they carry guns and crimes against tourists are a personal affront to them.
- Bars and Nightclubs away from places such as Lan Kwai Fong and Knutsford Terrace, (where even the drunks are friendly) can be a problem purely and simply because where ever people get drunk, trouble can flare so just follow your instincts.
- and following on from that, that old fight starter of looking at some one the wrong way in a dim bar or night club has been known to happen in the bars of Wanchai, TST and TST East but it is rare.. you know what I mean, you catch the eye of someone who is a little worse for wear, he says "who are you looking at" you say "nothing" he says "are your calling me nothing" and you know the rest!... common sense people, common sense.
- We do have Triads in Hong Kong but the chances of you finding yourself in a place at the same time as these chaps is virtually zero.
- As in any city, you enter a seedy bar or “massage parlour” at your own risk and yes it is not unknown for Tourists to get robbed or ripped off in these places but such occurrences are rare (but I am guessing that most of these crimes go unreported)
- Random unprovoked attacks on people are almost unheard of
- I have made comments about the undesirability of Chun King Mansions in TST Kowloon, in fact there are many such buildings stretching all the way up Nathan Road from TST to Mongkok but even these places are pretty safe, they have a reputation of being hotbed's of crime but the reality is far more mundane, the Police keep a very tight reign on these places.
- If you happen to be in Tuen Mun or Yuen Long at 2am and you see 10 blokes wearing one black glove and 10 blokes wearing one white glove carrying machetes and metal bars then do what most people do and leg it., fast but seriously, your average tourist will not be out and about in our working class towns at 2am, gang fights are not uncommon but this is not like US or UK gang culture, there are no drive bys and gun control is probably the strictest in the world.
Jamie Lloyd
J3 Tours Hong Kong
Comments
Hi Vincent, obviously I have not been to every major city in the world, but when I compare it to London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Paris then yes, absolutely I would say that Hong Kong is the safest by far, a visitor for example from London is always thinking about personal safety, you just do not have to worry about it in Hong Kong, it really is a terrific place to live, work and raise a family
Jamie