Vellore police have urged commercial establishments in and around Long Bazaar to install at least one road facing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera to track crimes such as chain snatching, especially during the festive season.
The police department convened a meeting with representatives of various associations including that of flower merchants, jewellers, vegetable and fruit traders, and textile showrooms on Wednesday. About 100 to 150 traders participated in the meeting. Superintendent of Police, Vellore K. Pravesh Kumar spoke on the importance of installing CCTV cameras. Deputy Superintendent of Police (Vellore) P. Sreedharan was present.
“There could be movement of criminals during the festive season. There could be incidents of snatching chains or bags from people. So, surveillance is important. When we approach shops in the vicinity for CCTV footage in such cases, the cameras are not road facing. Though many shops have cameras, they mostly cover till the two-wheeler parking space. The movement on the road is not covered,” said K. Nagarajan, inspector, Vellore North station.
Hence, the police have urged traders to install at least one surveillance camera facing the road. He added that as of now, nearly 200 lodges, 400 jewellery shops and 25 grocery stores in the station limits have installed surveillance cameras.
“We also told the traders about the importance of installing CCTV cameras. The presence of surveillance cameras could in itself prevent thefts. We also stressed the need to maintain the cameras well. They have to check if the cameras record, playback and the storage period,” he said.
Mr. Nagarajan said that they have made security arrangements ahead of the festive season. There are two watch towers — at the Long Bazaar-Main Bazaar junction and Old Fish Market junction. “Police are deployed at these watch towers to monitor crowd movement and also create awareness among the public on staying safe. We are also distributing pamphlets to the public on how to stay safe from criminals,” he added.
