Police on Sunday said they will expand their surveillance camera system to include public housing estates, cross-harbour tunnels, immigration control points and venues hosting the National Games by the end of the year, and gradually integrate cameras installed by other government departments and public organisations.

The force has already installed more than 4,500 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras under its “SmartView” initiative since it was launched last year, and credits the footage with helping officers detect more than 480 criminal cases so far, leading to the arrests of more than 840 people.

It plans to add at least another 500 cameras to the system by the end of 2025.

The cameras are installed on lampposts, government buildings and on police vehicles, and the force is planning to install the first traffic light-mounted camera before the end of the year.

Besides detecting crime, Police Operations Wing Senior Superintendent Leung Ming-leung said the system is also used to monitor and assess road conditions and detect flooding.

“Taking the recent Super Typhoon Ragasa as an example, we have used SmartView cameras to monitor and assess the conditions in real time at various high-risk locations, such as low-lying areas, vulnerable flooding areas and public transport interchanges,” he said.

After the storm passed, authorities shared information from the cameras with the Drainage Services Department to deploy personnel and resources to the most affected areas, helping to restore normalcy as quickly as possible.

Police also say the system has proven to be “highly effective” in using AI-powered technology to generate precise crowd estimates at large scale events such as the recent National Day fireworks display -- significantly enhancing the force’s crowd management capabilities.

The force says it aims to integrate cameras installed by other government departments and public organisations, such as those at the Kai Tak Sports Park.

“To date, over 5,000 such cameras have been connected to SmartView,” the force said.

It’s planning to integrate cameras from 10 public housing estates managed by the Housing Department, three cross-harbour tunnels managed by the Transport Department, seven venues related to the National Games that are managed by the Leisure & Cultural Services Department, and four immigration control points.