The district police administration is poised to revamp its security surveillance through the installation of CCD (charged-coupled device) cameras in Nagapattinam. The leap has been just been initiated with the installation of the first CCD camera at the new bus stand here.
On Wednesday, the CCD camera mounted at an elevation of about 25 ft on a water tank at the bus stand was demonstrated here at the office of the Deputy Superintendent Office, which hosts the control facility for the camera.
The CCD camera with a panning facility of up to 360 degrees and coverage of up to 100 mts, also hosts a zoom capacity of 27 x – with a marked precision to pick up the registration numbers of vehicles from a distance. The special feature of the CCD camera is its speed dome facility that captures a moving vehicle at a speed “faster than the fastest vehicle”. Its high point is its ability to pan over 180 degrees within three seconds. The CCD camera would be manned by two constables round-the-clock through a monitor at the office of the DSP.
Further any untouched, unclaimed object lying for a considerable period of time would be marked by the camera in red. The time-span could be pre-fixed just as the sequence of the images to ensure multiple monitoring points.
Equipped with a space to store recorded footage up to 20 days, the CCD would enhance index-searching – to locate a specific footage of a specific movement on a particular date and time.
The highly sophisticated instrument at a cost of Rs.1 lakh is bound to bring in a marked difference in the way surveillance is conducted. Further, the police administration also proposes to install 35 cameras within the Nagapattinam town limits and five cameras in Nagore. Cameras would be placed at the main points such as the Puthur Anna Statue, market place, harbour, railway station, including the district Collectorate and Government Hospital premises among others.
Speaking about the proposal, Maheshwar Dayal, Superintendent of Police stated that five cameras proposed for Nagore would be hosted from a control room in Nagore, as connecting it via cables all the way upto Nagapattinam would be a costly fare.
Demonstrating the facility for the press and bankers, Mr.Dayal also outlined the mode of financing for the cameras - potentially through Namakkunamae Thittam, with public contribution (primarily through banks, associations and chamber of Commerce) met by an equal contribution from the Government.
According to T.K.Nataraj, Deputy Superintendent of Police, the immediacy of its utility would be in the event of hit and run cases and traffic snarls that bog down the police resources. A CCD camera has already been functioning in Mayiladuthurai.
