Private CCTV footages help solve 250 cases

The police were able to identify Ramkumar with the help of CCTV footage after he murdered IT professional Swathi and were also able to detect the three men from Nepal who were responsible for the murder of Shantha (65) in her house at Pulla Avenue, T Nagar with the help of private CCTV cameras that were installed at commercial establishments in the city. 

According to the statistics provided by the city police, more than 250 cases had been solved with the help of CCTV footages in 2016. The footage helped the police to link the accused to the scene of the crime and resulted in convictions and arrests. Under the jurisdiction of T Nagar police, as many as 31 cases had been solved with the help of CCTV footage and under the St Thomas Mount police range, as many as 29 cases had been solved. 

With the help of CCTV cameras, the police were able to nab the criminals and recover the stolen articles. Private cameras, which individuals or private firms install for their own safety, have played an integral role in helping police to crack the cases reported in the city. Though the government has not taken the initiative to install CCTV cameras for maintaining the law and order situation in the city, residents and business establishments see it as an integral part of their private security arrangements. 

“We have been holding meetings with residents’ associations, business groups and traders to install CCTV cameras in their localities as it improves the security and helps prevent crime. Many sensational cases in the city have been solved with the help of CCTV footage. We identify the murderers in the Shantha murder case with the help of CCTV footage we recovered from a camera installed at a marriage hall next to the scene of crime,” a senior police official told DT Next. 

Now police are urging more residents’ associations to install cameras in their neighbourhood. “It is not a requirement. We only request people to install cameras for better safety and security in the locality. It is not possible for the government to bring the entire city under CCTV surveillance. So, citizens will have to chip in with their contribution. 

One could see how helpful these CCTV images had been in solving crimes,” another official said. Though many apartment complexes, residential areas and business establishments have CCTV cameras installed, it is not a fool-proof system. Sources said many house owners and business establishments switch off the CCTV cameras during night in a bid to conserve electricity. 

“Many also do not have a proper system for storing the recorded clips and most of the footage gets erased in a day or two. Some CCTV systems only have live monitoring feature and no provision for regular storage of recorded video,” the official said. Now, apart from telling the residents to install CCTV cameras, police are also asking them not to switch them off at night and also to store the recorded videos for a longer duration.