Police gonna launch some drone patrols in the force’s Kowloon West region and Hong Kong’s northern border area on Friday, with 700 officers and about 30 sets of unmanned aircraft all ready to go. Superintendent Tango Ko Chung-ying, from the force’s key points and search division, mentioned that patrols will be happening under a pilot scheme for three months to see how things go. The plan is to have automatic drone patrols up and running on The Peak and Cheung Chau by the end of this year at the earliest.
Equipping every police district with its own automatic drone patrol system is the ultimate goal for the force. Ko mentioned, “In the long run, we hope to regularize drone use in policing.” This move confirms what was reported earlier by the Post, indicating that the force is gearing up for anti-burglary drone patrols in urban areas, especially targeting older districts with tenement buildings that might need some fixing up. Chief Inspector Vincent Law Hoi-ming highlighted that the drone patrol pilot scheme marks a shift from the force’s current operations-based approach, where drones were mainly used for mountain rescue operations, evidence gathering, training, and crowd control surveys.
So, not really sure why this matters, but the police are getting ready to launch drone patrols in certain areas. I mean, 700 officers and 30 sets of drones seem like a lot, but I guess they gotta do what they gotta do. The pilot scheme is gonna last for three months to see how things play out, and they’re hoping to have automatic drone patrols in more places by the end of the year. It’s all part of the plan to make drone use in policing more standard across all police districts. Looks like they’re really stepping up their game, especially in older districts where they think drone patrols could really make a difference. Let’s see how this all pans out in the end.
