Hong Kong police install 504 CCTVs over 8 months, with possible use for counterterrorism
Secretary for Security Chris Tang says he will not exclude using surveillance camera push to combat terrorism
Hong Kong police have installed more than 500 surveillance cameras across the city over the past eight months, with the security chief saying they might be used for counterterrorism purposes.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Monday that he would not exclude counterterrorism from efforts to combat crime through the installation of more surveillance cameras across the city and the use of new technologies.
“We are rolling out these surveillance cameras to prevent and eliminate crime, and we’ll use them when there is crime. Terrorist acts are a form of crime,” he said during a media interview.
Asked if the new cameras could use facial recognition technology to identify people on the government’s entry blacklist, the minister said all of the surveillance installations needed to comply with the city’s privacy laws.
“The footage will be stored. When there’s a need, a reason and a time when a crime happened, there will be an officer of a certain rank authorised to use such data for crime prevention and busting,” Tang said.
He added that the footage would be deleted after 30 days if it was not linked to an active investigation.
