Police Commissioner Raymond Siu on Saturday unveiled that Hong Kong recorded 70,015 crimes in the first nine months of the year, marking a 4.8 percent increase from the same period last year.

The rise mainly comes from a surge in fraud, theft and blackmail cases.

Former police chief Andy Tsang’s home in Tai Po was recently burglarised, with reports saying that over HK$100,000 worth of items were stolen.

On a Commercial Radio programme, Siu mentioned that burglary cases saw a 50 percent year-on-year increase in the first quarter.

He noted the force had since enhanced prevention measures, leading to a decline in such crimes in the first nine months, when compared with last year.

"We have strengthened patrols, especially on village houses and detached homes. We have also done more intelligence gathering, and we're using technology as well. We use drones from the Government Flying Service to monitor remote areas to identify if there are suspicious persons,” he said.

“Moreover, we have enhanced communication with residents, and urged them to report to the police immediately if they spot any suspicious activities. All these measures have led to a noticeable improvement.”

Siu noted there were 32,120 fraud cases in the first nine months of the year, 2,470 more compared with the same period last year.

He highlighted that the surge primarily came from a new method of deception, where scammers pretend to be customer service representatives at e-commerce stores.

The police chief went on to say that the force had implemented targeted promotions and initiatives aimed at combating these types of fraud crime in the past few months, leading to a monthly decline in figures since July.