A STUDY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SMART POLICING IN MACAU: AN ASSESSMENT OF ITS ADOPTION AND CHALLENGES

This dissertation examines the implementation of smart policing in Macau,
focusing on the adoption and challenges of facial recognition technology within the
Macau Urban Electronic Surveillance System. As Macau pursues its smart city
ambitions, the integration of advanced technologies into law enforcement has become
a central strategy for enhancing public safety and operational efficiency. However, the
actual acceptance and use of these technologies by frontline police officers remain
underexplored.
The study adopts a mixed-methods approach. documentary analysis of
government policies and strategic documents provides an overview of Macau’s smart
policing initiatives and the legal and infrastructural frameworks supporting them. The
core of the research is a quantitative survey of Macau police officers who have direct
experience with the facial recognition system. The survey is structured around the
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), with additional
attention to compatibility and perceived legal knowledge.
The results reveal that performance expectancy and perceived legal knowledge
are the strongest factors influencing officers’ adoption of facial recognition while
effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and compatibility are less
influential. Practical challenges were discovered through the Macau police officers.