Hong Kong aims to add facial recognition to public CCTVs this year: police chief

Hong Kong’s surveillance cameras are expected to incorporate facial recognition technology as early as this year, pending the resolution of legal and technical issues, according to the city’s police chief. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming also said on Sunday that the force would prioritise linking closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in high-traffic and strategically located shopping centres into the force’s “SmartView” system, noting that operators had “responded positively” to the plan. The force previously indicated that facial recognition technology could be adopted in the system by the end of last year, but Chow said that some legal and technical issues had to be addressed. “The adaptability of our colleagues, the level of acceptance among the public and the legal framework – these are all areas we are working on,” Chow said in a televised interview. “I hope that we can introduce [facial recognition technology] in the near future … I cannot say with certainty whether it will happen this year, but of course, I hope we can. If not, I hope it will be next year.” Chow said the force would tell the public before deploying facial recognition technology on its cameras. Police earlier said that facial recognition would be used to identify suspects or missing people and to alert officers to matches. The government has proposed earmarking HK$4 billion (US$511.6 million) to expand the SmartView project, with the aim of installing 6,500 more cameras across the city – bringing the total to 66,500 by 2031 – and developing an artificial intelligence video analytics toolbox. A policy paper submitted to the legislature’s security panel said the force would also collaborate with private commercial organisations to integrate suitable cameras into SmartView, upgrade the video management system and expand capacity, and improve infrastructure such as fibre optic networks for stable transmission. Chow said the force had approached shopping centres to connect their surveillance cameras to SmartView. “We have been in discussions with some shopping centre operators and received positive responses,” Chow said, adding that he expected connections within this year. He noted that high-traffic and strategically located shopping centres would be prioritised. With Hong Kong set to hold Interpol’s top annual meeting in November for the first time, Chow said the attendee list remained uncertain amid heightened geopolitical tensions. He stressed that the force would not halt its international exchanges despite such turbulence, adding that it would focus on strengthening ties with Southeast Asian countries, where absconders often fled to. Chow also dismissed concerns that collaboration with Japanese police on a 51 million yen (US$330,800) robbery outside a currency exchange shop last month had been affected by ongoing tensions between Beijing and Tokyo. “Our cooperation with [Japanese police] has not been extensive,” Chow said. “Perhaps they have a lot of investigative work to do, and it takes time for them to consider what they can offer.”