HK Police to launch Facial recognition on CCTV system Monday

Commissioner of Police Joe Chow announces the "SmartView" CCTV system will activate its facial recognition function starting Monday.

Chow says the facial recognition function will be activated to track down suspects and assist in searching for missing persons.

The police would not disclose the exact capabilities of the system in order to prevent ill-intentioned individuals from finding ways to evade it.

He believes the use of facial recognition serves as protection for law-abiding citizens and surveillance for those attempting to commit crimes.

Meanwhile, to combat bid-rigging, the police, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and the Competition Commission have formed a joint task force and set up a reporting hotline, which Chow says has received 100 calls so far.

In addition, the police have recently stepped up enforcement against cross-border illegal hire cars, with Chow reporting 12 people have been arrested over the past two weeks and operations will continue in the coming days.