Hong Kong police said around 25,000 people are expected to celebrate Halloween in Hong Kong’s Lan Kwai Fong nightlife area on Thursday, preparing to increase the safety measures on that day with more surveillance cameras equipped with crowd-counting technology available for the first time.
According to the assistant district commander Kitty Chik Hsia-yu on Sunday, the roads in the Lan Kwai Fong area would be closed temporarily in phases starting from 2 pm.
The closure area will cover D’Aguilar Street, Wyndham Street, Wellington Street, Stanley Street and Queen’s Road Central.
Chik said one-way pedestrian flow measures might be implemented as the crowd size grew, which could include closing some entrances to the area, with visitors required to enter through D’Aguilar Street and exit via Wyndham Street.
Police have installed 50 new permanent CCTV cameras throughout Lan Kwai Fong and nearby areas, providing real-time multi-angle monitoring directly to police district operational command centres.
The cameras operate with a new crowd-counting feature that uses video analytic techniques to assess crowd density and determine when to implement crowd control measures.
Public address systems have also been installed for emergency broadcasts.
Police chief Raymond Siu Chak-yee revealed the use of the crowd-counting system in an exclusive interview with the Post last week, noting its importance.
“To effectively deal with crowd management, we have installed this people counting system in our CCTVs, so that we have an overall picture of the crowd density in a particular area,” Siu said.
He added that there were plans to integrate facial recognition technology into the Lan Kwai Fong cameras next year.
The 50 CCTV cameras are part of a broader police initiative to install 2,000 across Hong Kong by 2025 and add 2,000 to 2,500 annually. Currently, 504 cameras are operational.
Chik also said the force would monitor traffic conditions in real-time, with special attention to taxi drivers’ behaviour. Officers would be strategically deployed to enforce regulations and address any law violations relating to taxi services.
香港警方準備加強安全措施 預計蘭桂坊萬聖節將有25,000人
香港警方表示，預計週四將有約 25,000 人在香港蘭桂坊夜生活區慶祝萬聖節，準備加強當天的安全措施，首次配備更多配備人群計數技術的監視器。
據助理警區指揮官Kitty Chik Hsia-yu週日表示，蘭桂坊地區的道路將從下午2點開始分階段暫時封閉。
封閉範圍包括德己立街、雲鹹街、威靈頓街、赤柱街及皇后大道中。
Chik表示，隨著人群規模的增加，可能會實施單向行人流量措施，其中可能包括關閉該地區的一些入口，要求遊客從德己立街進入，從雲鹹街離開。
警方在蘭桂坊及附近地區安裝了50個新的永久性閉路電視攝影機，直接向警區行動指揮中心提供即時多角度監控。
這些攝影機具有新的人群計數功能，該功能使用視訊分析技術來評估人群密度並確定何時實施人群控制措施。
也安裝了公共廣播系統以進行緊急廣播。
警察局長蕭澤爾上週在接受《華盛頓郵報》獨家採訪時透露了人群計數系統的使用，並指出了其重要性。
「為了有效地進行人群管理，我們在閉路電視中安裝了人數統計系統，以便我們全面了解特定區域的人群密度，」蕭說。
他補充說，計劃明年將臉部辨識技術整合到蘭桂坊的攝影機中。
警方計劃在 2025 年之前在全港安裝 2,000 個閉路電視攝影機，並每年增加 2,000 至 2,500 個，這 50 個閉路電視攝影機是其中的一部分。 目前，有 504 台攝影機正在運作。
奇克也表示，警方將即時監控交通狀況，特別關注計程車司機的行為。 將策略性地部署官員來執行法規並解決與計程車服務有關的任何違法行為。
Source: SCMP
Comments