Editorial | Give Hong Kong’s police hi-tech tools to fight crime
- An expensive upgrade of the Hong Kong force’s digital communications system is needed in light of a huge increase in data and cybersecurity challenges
A proposed major upgrade of police digital communications systems would come with a hefty price tag. The force wants HK$5.2 billion (US$663 million) for a new 5G system that can handle the “massive amount” of data gathered by frontline officers.
The Next Generation Communications System is supposed to improve efficiency of policing and emergency services. It can cope with texts, images and videos in real time, according to a paper submitted to the Legislative Council’s security panel last Wednesday.
The force said it would be critical for national security needs, arguing that without the system, information gathered in the line of duty may be fragmented and incomplete.
Mobile broadband is standard for law enforcement agencies around the world including on the mainland as well as countries such as the United States, Britain and Thailand. Hong Kong police radio communications technology dates back to 1995 and has a narrow bandwidth that can only handle voice and simple text messages.
The last communications update was in 2016, when HK$855 million was spent for computer-assisted command and control in the 999 emergency system.
The funds being requested now would be spent over six financial years on hardware and software, as well as wireless base stations, renting mobile broadband networks and the purchase of about 33,000 radio sets.