It's time the city rolled out surveillance technology, as other places have, but with sufficient safeguards to ensure it complies with privacy laws Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world, and law enforcement agencies need to make the best use of new technology if they are to keep it that way. The importance placed by new Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming on "smart policing" is welcome. The force should have access to the best systems on the market.
Hong Kong already trails other parts of the world, which have been quicker to embrace such technology and make more extensive use of it. The city should push ahead with efforts to catch up.
Progress is being made. Drone patrols are taking place under a pilot scheme in the northern border areas and in urban Yau Tsim district, where they have led to arrests in four cases involving dangerous drugs and theft. The use of drones should be expanded. Trials of robot dogs are in the early stages and their use is limited to police stations, but they could also be used effectively for public patrols.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Police surveillance cameras are gradually being installed, with 2,000 sets to be in place by the end of the year. Use of the cameras led to 351 cases being detected by the end of June, including theft, burglary, wounding and homicide. Mobile cameras will soon be installed on 60 patrol cars. Cameras that monitor traffic in real time are being introduced, helping to ease congestion.
But the number of surveillance cameras in Hong Kong is low compared to other places. The Metropolitan Police in London had 4,000 fixed cameras in 2023.
British officers also make good use of facial recognition technology, which involves cameras scanning faces in public and matching them with databases to catch criminals. Almost 5 million faces were scanned live in England and Wales last year. Hong Kong police are studying the feasibility of facial recognition technology and could start using it by the end of this year. The benefits are evident.
Concerns about privacy have held back the city's adoption of surveillance technology. When the police first proposed trials of cameras in 2002, the privacy watchdog noted "considerable concern" in the community.
Times have changed. The need to protect people's privacy has not stopped other parts of the world from rolling out new technology. Public confidence can be maintained so long as there are sufficient safeguards. There must be clear and transparent regulations and guidelines to ensure the use of surveillance technology complies with the city's privacy laws and is not unduly invasive.
Chow is right to make the use of technology one of four strategic directions for the force. Hong Kong should accelerate its responsible adoption of tools that help fight crime and make the city safe.
More Articles from SCMP
How America learned to embrace Israel’s genocide as future of war
Trump’s Arctic strategy stirs debate over China’s polar shipping ambitions
How the EU has marginalised itself on the global stage
US-India trade talks seen unlikely to produce deal by August 1 deadline
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.