2,000 cams to join anti-crime drive

About 2,000 "spy cameras" will be installed in places with a high pedestrian flows and risk places to prevent crimes, Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said.

"Surveillance cameras will be put in places where there are high people flows and areas evaluated by the police as high-risk," he said yesterday.

"If necessary, surveillance cameras can be moved to other places. They may not be placed in the same spots permanently," Cheuk added.

He said 600 cameras would be installed by the middle of the year and the remaining 1,400 by the end of the year.

Addressing privacy concerns, Cheuk said surveillance cameras had been installed in many cities, and the number of cameras in Hong Kong was relatively low when compared to them.

Other cities, he said, had a lot more CCTV cameras than in Hong Kong.

He also said authorities would review the impact of the installations in the future.

"With surveillance cameras installed, they will be of great help in preventing and investigating crime cases," Cheuk said.

"If someone wants to commit a crime, can they hide from so many surveillance cameras?"

"One of the top five priorities of the task force on district governance established earlier is to improve regional security levels," Cheuk said.

Regarding his expectations of district councils, he said for Hong Kong to get back on track, it needs to effectively deal with regional and people's livelihood issues.

"SAR government officials work for Hong Kong and its people, and authorities are willing to accept criticism and make improvements," he said.

Yau Tsim Mong council member Wong Shu-ming agreed that installing more surveillance cameras in the district can help prevent crimes as the district saw a number of robberies last year.

A watch shop in Granville Road was robbed by three armed gangsters in December, who escaped with luxury watches worth more than HK$39 million.

Another watch store on Canton Road was also robbed by three robbers of timepieces worth HK$3.7 million.

"For example, Canton Road is a long road linking Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui," Wong said.

"There are different kinds of businesses along the road, including stores selling jewelry and jade, as well as luxury brands. Setting up surveillance cameras would definitely help to prevent large-scale robberies," Wong said.

Cheuk told Legco members yesterday the list of hygiene black spots has increased to 738 from 663 at the start of the campaign in August 2022, based on the feedback from groups and citizens.

Among them, Tai Po district got the most number of hygiene black spots, followed by Kowloon City and Central and Western Districts.

According to the inspection results from various departments last month, hygiene conditions at more than 80 percent of black spots have greatly improved and they can be removed from the list.