The government said on Friday it plans to spend HK$4 billion to install more CCTV cameras across Hong Kong, in a bid to enhance efficiency in law enforcement and crowd control.

Police have been installing cameras for the SmartView network to have a total of 60,000 devices by 2028.

In documents submitted to the Legislative Council, the Security Bureau and the force said an extra 6,500 cameras in phase three of the scheme, bringing the total to around 66,500 in five years’ time, would further improve the network's coverage.

Police have been connecting other public cameras to the system, and officers will look into connecting suitable cameras from private commercial organisations to the network as well.

For the upcoming fiscal year, the recurrent expenditure such as maintenance and consumables is estimated at nearly HK$73 million, and the figure is forecast to rise to HK$243 million in a decade.

But the CCTV network, the force said, would also save costs.

"The SmartView programme will increase the efficiency of law enforcement actions and crowd management, saving manpower currently used for repetitive tasks such as searching and viewing CCTV footages," police said in the document.

They estimate notional savings of nearly HK$20 million a year from the 2028-29 fiscal year, and the manpower saved will be redeployed to other increasingly heavy police duties that require their professional judgement.

The proposal will be discussed by the legislature's security panel later this month, before a funding request is tabled next month.