Sharjah: Sharjah Police have completed 90 per cent of installation of high-tech CCTV surveillance cameras in most parts of the city, officials said.
The announcement was made at the 2016 Economic Sustainability Forum organised by the Economic Sustainability Centre at the Directorate General of Strategy and Performance Development at the Ministry of Interior.
Colonel Abdullah Mubarak, deputy chief of Sharjah Police, said 90 per cent of cameras in the city of Sharjah have been installed and all the devices will be activated by the end of this year. “In the first stage 5,000 cameras are being installed, the second and third phase will cover the east and central regions of the emirate,” he said.
The first stage took months as a data centre was set up and linked with the police operations room. The installation began in September 2014 to help police and other security agencies prevent crimes as part of the emirate’s ambitious project titled ‘Sharjah is a safe city’.
Sharjah Police will be the third police force in the world to implement this advanced surveillance system designed by Dell.
He said the police are working with business owners, landlords and hotels in installing the new cameras and those who do not cooperate with the authorities will be penalised. The hardware and software of the monitoring system has been tailored to suit the specific needs of Sharjah. Following the roll-out, the police will have deeper and wider coverage, improved rapid response, sharper investigation and evidence tracking abilities, as well as increased transparency, he said.
“This collaboration signifies our continued efforts to protect the residents of Sharjah as the city continues to grow and develop. The implementation is key to our ability to monitor and store vast amounts of information that is crucial to safeguarding the security of Sharjah. We have the tools to support our current endeavours, in addition to a foundation for future growth,” he said.
These cameras have been connected to the police operations room and provide regular updates about road safety and traffic flow through internet protocol.
The cameras have multiple uses, including ability to read car number plates and monitor traffic flow. Police patrols will also be equipped with these cameras.
