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Lo Hoi-ying

Hong Kong police will consider introducing robot dogs and linking surveillance camera systems with other government departments to assist in law enforcement.
Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming, who assumed the top job on April 2, said on Sunday that the force would actively study the use of robots and robot dogs to reduce manpower.
“We are researching whether robots can be used to catch thieves, perform other types of work or go out on patrol together, this is the direction we are heading in,” he said.
“In the short term, a pilot scheme will be launched to use drones for some high-altitude patrols, or in some rural areas, potentially border areas which are further away.”

He added that the force was in discussion with mainland Chinese authorities to explore how robot dogs could be deployed.
Several mainland provinces and the United States currently deploy robot dogs for policing purposes to enhance efficiency.
Last month, authorities in Beijing introduced two 65kg (143lb) robot dogs as part of a “smart patrol” team.
According to Chinese media, the robots have a four-hour battery, are equipped with tools for tasks such as patrolling and bomb disposal, and provide detailed ground inspections while supporting logistics and data transmission.
A robotic dog named “Spot”, made by US firm Boston Dynamics, has also been seen patrolling the perimeter of US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Chow said that in the future, there might be one surveillance camera “every few steps”.
Under a project named “Smartview”, he said, his aim was to increase the number of surveillance camera units in the city to 2,000 by the end of the year, although he did not specify an ultimate target.
According to Chow, police installed 615 surveillance camera units in various locations across the city last year, which contributed to solving 122 cases.
He also said he hoped the force could access surveillance data from existing camera systems from other government departments, such as those in smart lamp posts.
The lamp posts are part of the government’s “smart city” initiative and come equipped with a range of technologies, including Wi-fi access, Bluetooth detectors and radio frequency identification tags, meteorological and air quality sensors, as well as thermal detectors and up to two types of cameras.

They can collect information about traffic conditions, pedestrian flow, illegal waste dumping and pollution levels.
Questioned about whether the data should be immediately accessible or require permission from the respective departments, Chow said he preferred immediate access, believing it would have a deterrent effect on crime.
He said on a radio show on Saturday that the force was studying the suitability of connecting surveillance systems with those under the Transport Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to “avoid repetitive installation”.
As for national security, Chow said promotional activities to raise public awareness would be as pervasive as those for fraud prevention.
“We hope that in the future, on different occasions and in various programmes, we can incorporate elements of national security, so that residents from different backgrounds can have a clearer understanding of it,” he said, disagreeing with the notion that increased efforts were excessive.
He had previously said that instilling a sense of duty in residents to encourage them to defend national security in their daily lives was one of the three primary goals of his tenure.
Chow also said he would not speculate the reason behind the significantly reduced number of public demonstrations and marches in recent years, but he believed that the force’s role remained unchanged.
“Despite our attempts to facilitate these activities, our past experience shows that when chaos happens and we try to contact the organisers, they avoid us and become uncontactable,” he said.
“This is what I mean by creating a platform for troublemakers to commit illegal acts.”
Chow declined to comment on claims that some residents had been advised by police not to take to the streets on sensitive dates.
But he said the force would not make generalisations or reject all applicants with bad track records, but it would still consider their past performance and ability to manage chaos when reviewing proposals.
Asked whether police would try to dissuade organisers over holding demonstrations, Chow said he did not see a difference between declining to issue a letter of no objection and telling residents to avoid taking to the streets.


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Commissioner of Police Joe Chow said that the force is studying the use of robots and robot dogs to reduce manpower. Photo: Reuters

A pilot scheme will be launched to use drones for high-altitude patrols. Photo: May Tse

Police installed 615 surveillance camera units in various locations across the city last year, which contributed to solving 122 cases. Photo: Jelly Tse

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New Hong Kong Police Commissioner Joe Chow meets the press on April 2. Photo: Eugene Lee

Hong Kong’s police chief Joe Chow says there have been 900,000 downloads of the Scameter app but the figure needs to be higher. Photo: SCMP

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News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Other initiatives include the use of drones and linking surveillance camera systems with other government departments


Other initiatives include the use of drones and linking surveillance camera systems with other government departments.


Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong national security law (NSL)

Surveillance