While everyone should be familiar with the live broadcasts of clashes on social media platforms of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), followers of these platforms should also have noticed that such live broadcasts have become more and more frequent. In fact, given the ongoing development of Operation TIDERIDER, the Social Media Communication (SMC) Section of the Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB) officially started to deploy the “Police Facebook Live Cadre” to conduct live broadcasts of large-scale public events on HKPF’s social media platforms (including Facebook and YouTube), amid the incident at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University last November. Via such live broadcasts, the Police wish to provide members of the public with another perspective on the latest situations at scenes of clashes, so they can see for themselves the actual scenarios facing frontline officers. Besides, when the necessity arises, such live footage can help debunk inaccurate media reports. The ultimate aim of implementing live broadcasts is to enhance transparency in Police work and increase public trust in the Force.

Since the introduction of the “Police Facebook Live” broadcasts, an average of 200 000 reaches has been recorded during the broadcast of each scene of clashes. This attests to the effectiveness of the scheme in reaching out to communities and communicating with members of the public. Meanwhile, the Force always strives to improve the quality of its live broadcasts. Apart from enhancing the technologies to improve the quality of both images and transmissions, the Force also works hard to expand the scope of clashes that it can cover in its live broadcasts. In addition to the participation of colleagues from the SMC Section, PPRB has recently engaged officers from the five Police Regions to assist in the scheme. Each region has identified colleagues who have experience in photography and also the passion to take part in the scheme. To date, a total of 28 colleagues have joined this “extended cadre”.

On May 12, the 28 officers attended the “Police Facebook Live Training Day” organised by PPRB. During the training, PPRB officers who had participated in the live broadcasts shared with the cadre members the vision behind the live broadcasts, the challenges faced by frontline officers when conducting live broadcasts, matters to pay attention to when it comes to filming at the scenes, filming techniques as well as the overall structure of the live broadcast mechanism. PPRB also provided cadre members with an opportunity to experiment with the equipment for conducting live broadcast and filming on the spot.

In future, relevant police officers will assist in the live broadcasts on the Force’s social media platforms. PPRB will also recruit more colleagues to join the “Police Facebook Live Cadre”. Police officers who are interested in joining the cadre can stay tuned to updates on the Force Notice Board.

Please visit the following link to view related videos:（https://m.facebook.com/HongKongPoliceForce/video_grid/?playlist_id=264791578246410）.