On Nov 5, the Hong Kong Police Force announced, through social media, that it had launched its national security hotline. Although some people have expressed concern, hotlines are a vital and common tool in combatting crime. People can, of course, always report a crime at a police station, or by dialing 999, but dedicated hotlines have come into their own in recent times, both in Hong Kong and elsewhere.
In the United Kingdom, for example, the Metropolitan Police Service (New Scotland Yard), operates its Anti-Terror Hotline, which has assisted efforts to frustrate terrorist-type activity in the London area. In Australia, the government describes its National Security Hotline as “a vital component of Australia’s national counter-terrorism efforts”. A different type of hotline is provided by Crime Stoppers, which, operating in, for example, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, is an independent countrywide charity working to stop crime. It also allows anyone with information about a crime, who wishes to disclose it in confidence and anonymously, to call its dedicated service.
In Hong Kong, if a matter is not urgent, offences such as dangerous drugs, illegal gambling and technology crime can be reported through the police force’s e-Report Centre. In October 2019, moreover, the force’s Anti-Violence Hotline was updated, because of the escalating violence at public order events. Apart from its telephone contact, the hotline is also available for messages sent to the communication apps WeChat, LINE and through SMS, and is devoted to receiving anti-violence intelligence. The public has used the hotline to supply information, photographs, audio or video clips, and, by Oct 30, it had received 1.2 million reports. These have facilitated investigations into protest-related crimes, and helped to bring offenders to justice.
The national security hotline, performing a parallel function, will enable people to report suspected breaches of the National Security Law, covering subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers. It will accept non-emergency reports containing sensitive information that is unsuitable for transmission through regular channels, such as the 999 call. The information may be sent by email, SMS or WeChat. Once received, the information, which will be handled by officers from the force’s national security department, may, as with the Anti-Violence Hotline, include not only the report itself, but also photographs and audio or video clips.
The information may be supplied anonymously, and the police will not collect personal details of those who use the hotline. If, as hoped, information is provided not only by concerned citizens, but also by participants in crime who have had second thoughts, the hotline will help to protect the city from those who wish it ill. It may also, as elsewhere, help to prevent atrocities and save lives, particularly if it discloses terrorist activity.
The criminal justice system has always relied heavily on the assistance of members of the public, even if, as sometimes happens, they are complicit in crime. It needs people to report crimes and identify criminal suspects, and, if they have insider information, to disclose it to the police. When this happens, it can lead to an offence being discovered and to suspects being apprehended. If, moreover, somebody with important information is prepared to go one step further, and give evidence at court, this can help not only to secure the conviction of the suspect, but also to send out the message that crime does not pay.
As the identities of informants will be protected, this should encourage people to come forward. The hotline will, at the very least, give offenders pause for thought, and hopefully deter them from national security law violations. If, moreover, any criminal suspects are planning to try to cheat justice, by breaking their bail terms and fleeing elsewhere, it will be open to honest citizens to alert the police to what is brewing, so they can take remedial action and advise the courts.
Although some people, usually those who objected to the enactment of the National Security Law in the first place, have criticized the hotline, claiming it will encourage a spying culture and might be abused, innocent people have nothing to fear. Just as they need not be afraid of being accused of drug trafficking just because there is a narcotics hotline, there is no cause for them to be alarmed over the existence of a national security hotline. If, of course, a report is frivolous or non-pursuable, it will be quickly disposed of. But, if it contains real substance, then it is clearly in the public interest that it be fully investigated, so that, for example, a terrorist outrage can be prevented.
In all areas of policing, good intelligence is the key to the effective combat of crime, and national security is no exception. If people are reluctant to report crime, for whatever reason, the criminals stand to benefit and society suffers, and everything possible must be done to facilitate the disclosure of relevant information. A crime-free society, and one which is safe, requires cooperation between the police and the law-abiding public, and the police hotline, whatever the crime, is a significant means of achieving this laudable objective.
The author is a senior counsel, law professor, criminal justice analyst and was previously the director of public prosecutions of the Hong Kong SAR.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
