Citing sections of the Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Act-2013, police in the capital had been telling all establishments and associations to install Closed Circuit TV cameras or face action.
The irony is - not even 10 per cent of the over 300 CCTV cameras installed by the government - which are under the control of police - comply with specifications of cameras mentioned in the Act!
While the Act states the camera should be full high definition with 1920 X 1080 resolution, not even 30 cameras out of the more than 300 fixed by the police match these standards.
Police top brass had been tom-tomming that they would set up hundreds of cameras bringing every inch of the city under their surveillance to make it safe and secure. They often boast of solving some sensational offences with the clues given by video footage recorded by these cameras.
Citing these examples and security needs of the city, they had been goading establishments like commercial buildings, theatres, restaurants and associations of apartment buildings to fix cameras. “It is your duty to install cameras as per this Act. Non-compliance might attract penal action,” they told representatives of complexes and buildings at recently held meetings.
The idea behind laying down specifications for cameras is to ensure uniform standards and better quality video footage for easy identification of suspects or offenders. “The market is flooded with cameras these days. If people start buying cameras with low resolution, the purpose of keeping surveillance would be lost,” a police officer observed.
But police are not ready to explain how they can direct public to install cameras of particular specification when the ones installed by them don’t comply with the standards mentioned in the Act. A police officer unwilling to be quoted said the present cameras in the capital were installed at one go .
