New app will let Hong Kong police scan ID cards and passports, verify information in seconds
- The ‘Beat App’ will check identification documents directly with the force’s computer database, eliminating the need to call information into the command centre via walkie talkie
- The new tool will not store data on phones or allow for taking screen caps, according to police
Police officers conducting stop-and-search checks on Hong Kong’s streets from next Wednesday will be able to quickly inspect residents’ ID cards using a new app, a tool that could reduce the verification process from five minutes to just 15 seconds.
The “Beat App”, which will be installed on police work phones, is equipped with an optical character recognition function able to scan text and extract the name, document number, date of birth, gender and issue date from an ID card or passport, sparing officers from handwriting data, a process more prone to mistakes.
The app can also scan the QR code on two-way permits for mainlanders to extract the same information. Once captured, data is then verified with the force’s computer system to see if the individual is wanted or considered missing.
Currently, beat officers verify a person’s identity card by calling a command and control centre via their walkie talkies. The officers also need to record the incident in their notebooks.
“If the centre is busy with other 999 calls, officers and the individual [they’ve stopped] need to wait even longer. But now the app allows officers to verify the data directly with the system,” said Chief Inspector Karen Yau Hoi-yan of the force’s operations wing.
She added that officers could choose whether to use the additional tool based on the situation, as massive crowds, a noisy environment or poor signal could hinder them from calling the centre.