Hong Kong, Hong Kong (territory-wide)
Hong Kong Police Force
SmartView territory-wide CCTV network with AI video analytics
OperationalParliamentary recordPAI-D377ECA9
- Body
- Hong Kong Police Force
- Country
- Hong Kong
- Area
- Hong Kong (territory-wide)
- Technology
- SmartView territory-wide CCTV network with AI video analytics
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- Not known
- Legal basis
- No dedicated statute identified in the sources read. The HKPF states the scheme operates under the auspices of the Task Force on District Governance, that cameras capture public places only, and that it complies with the relevant laws of Hong Kong.
- Oversight
- HKPF states it maintains close liaison with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data and commissioned independent consultancies for Privacy Impact and Security Risk Assessments. The February 2026 LegCo paper budgets for a Privacy Impact Assessment but sets out no independent oversight body for the analytics.
- Evidence
- Parliamentary record
Hansard, committee evidence, written answers - Source
- Legislative Council Finance Committee paper, March 2026
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-D377ECA9
Notes
Established by the Legislative Council Panel on Security paper of 24 February 2026: 'The SmartView system is currently equipped with artificial intelligence (AI)-powered functions, such as crowd size analysis and automatic number plate recognition.' That present-tense statement in a paper laid before the legislature is why this record is operational rather than proposed.
Scale, from the same paper: about 5,000 CCTV cameras installed by the HKPF and about 6,000 cameras of other government departments and organisations connected; the programme has assisted the HKPF in detecting 899 cases, including serious crimes such as murder and robbery. Over 20,000 cameras are to be added annually to reach about 60,000 across the city in 2028, with about 6,500 more by 2031. Non-recurrent cost is put at HK$4.066 billion across 2026-27 to 2031-32.
The paper also states the HKPF plans to build an AI-powered video analytics toolbox so that 'the Police will be able to track and search for target persons and vehicles in a speedier and more precise manner'. That toolbox is a plan, not a current capability, and is not what this record asserts.
Facial recognition is deliberately not recorded here. It appears nowhere in the LegCo paper or on the HKPF SmartView page. Senior officers have been reported as intending to add it during 2026, but an intention reported in the press is not a deployment.
No start date is given because no source establishes when the AI functions specifically began, as distinct from when the camera programme launched. No vendor is given because the paper describes a direct engagement procurement approach without naming the supplier.
Update, November 2026. The Finance Committee paper for the expansion (LegCo, March 2026, for the committee meeting of 27 March 2026) confirms the current AI functions as crowd size analysis and automatic number plate recognition. It sets out phase 2 (2026 to 2028, over 20,000 cameras added a year to reach about 60,000 by 2028) and phase 3 (2028 to 2031, about 6,500 more), with non-recurrent expenditure of HK$4,066,482,000 from 2026-27 to 2031-32, a contract award planned for April 2026 and full operation in March 2031. Planned additions include an AI video analytics toolbox, real-time crowd density assessment and early identification of persons involved in serious crime or wanted persons. The paper does not mention facial recognition.