Hong Kong police may add facial recognition to CCTV cameras this year as part of HK$4 billion expansion plan

SmartView is a government initiative to install CCTV cameras in Hong Kong’s “public places with high crime rate and pedestrian flow,” according to the LegCo paper. From 2026 to 2028, as part of SmartView’s second phase, the government plans to add 20,000 surveillance cameras per year, including setting up new ones and connecting the cameras of other departments to the police’s network.