Stating that installation of Closed-Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) had become inevitable in prevention and detection of crime, Commissioner of Police S. Davidson Devasirvatham, however, stressed that they cannot become substitutes for public cooperation in intelligence gathering.
Inaugurating 40 Internet Protocol (IP)-based surveillance cameras installed by a residents’ welfare association on 11 streets in Panthadi here on Thursday, the Commissioner said that residents must come forward to share information with the police on suspicious movement of strangers in their areas and other matters.
“There are about 9,000 streets in Madurai. The police will of course be patrolling, but they cannot be there in all places all the time. So public must also e alert and cooperate with the police,” he said.
Lauding the Madurai Panthadi Mahal Residents’ Welfare Association for the initiative, he said associations in other areas and even individual households must install surveillance cameras. “The technology has become cheaper and a camera costs just around ₹ 1,500 to ₹ 2,500,” he added.
Pointing out that the benefits were mainly two-fold, he said that surveillance cameras deterred movement of anti-social elements and also helped in detection of crimes.
V. Sasi Mohan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Madurai city, who earlier spoke, also stressed the importance of public cooperation. “While every police is a citizen in uniform, every citizen is a police in plainclothes,” he said.
Appealing to the public to make use of the WhatsApp number and Madurai City Police mobile application to connect with the police, he particularly encouraged people going out of station for a few days to use the ‘Locked-house Monitoring’ facility by making a request through the mobile application. The city police will install a camera and temporarily monitor the house in the absence of residents.
M.V. Adaikkalaraj, president of the non-governmental organisation, Tamil Nadu Traffic Improvement and Public Welfare Association, that assisted in installation of the cameras, said that provisions had been made for the personnel at South Gate police station to view the feed from the cameras.
R. Jayanthi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Madurai City, and K.N.K. Ravindran, president of the association, spoke.
