Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said on Wednesday that 2,000 surveillance cameras will be installed across Hong Kong by the end of this year to help prevent crime.

He told RTHK's Overview Policy programme that Hong Kong is a safe city, but more CCTV cameras would help officers keep track of crime.

"The surveillance cameras will be installed in places with a high flow of people and places evaluated as high risk by officers. But the cameras may not put there permanently, if needed, they may be moved to other places too," he said.

"This can also improve governance at the district level. If someone wants to commit a crime, can they dodge so many surveillance cameras?"

Cheuk said 600 would be installed by mid-2024 and the rest by the end of this year.

He added that he understood some people had privacy concerns, but said many other places had more CCTV cameras than Hong Kong.