Hong Kong police chief Raymond Siu backs government plan to install 2,000 surveillance cameras by end of year
- Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu says 7.3 million surveillance cameras installed throughout UK since 1990s, adding Singaporeans also welcomed such measure
- Hong Kong plans to install 2,000 CCTV cameras in densely populated parts and high-crime areas to combat crimes and ensure residents’ safety
Hong Kong’s police chief has defended a government plan to install 2,000 CCTV cameras across the city, arguing it is a “very common measure” overseas and claiming many Singaporeans, for instance, have asked for such a move.
But lawmakers on Monday called on the force to provide more details of the surveillance system to ease public concern over privacy while studying the experiences of other jurisdictions.
Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee said the purpose of setting up surveillance cameras in Hong Kong was to combat crimes and ensure residents’ safety. He pointed to the 7.3 million surveillance cameras the United Kingdom had installed since the 1990s and said that people in Singapore had also welcomed them.
“We should not forget that in many Western countries, many places have been installing CCTV,” he said. “I have heard from a Singaporean police officer that many residents there hope the government sets up CCTVs where they live.”
Authorities would install 615 cameras in the city’s public areas by next month and 2,000 in total by the end of the year.
