São Paulo Mayor João Doria has announced a new project called “Camera City”, promising to install 10,000 security cameras around São Paulo. Furthermore, he will be creating a central monitoring system to direct all existing security camera footage to one place. Pretty much all public buildings and private residential condos in the city already have their own security footage. Everywhere you turn, you’ll find surveillance cameras. But now commercial streets will also have cameras to monitor foot traffic. For example, the project has its first installation in the Brás commercial district. Anywhere from 250,000 to 320,000 people pass through this neighborhood each day. Now, the district will have 249 new street cameras – 232 fixed and 17 mobile. All footage will go to the mayor’s office as well as to relevant military police operations.
Doria states that the increase in surveillance will help identify criminals, taggers, and litterers with the purpose of protecting public property, such as schools and hospitals. The mayor also assured the public that the project would receive only private funding. All footage will go to the mayor’s office as well as to relevant military police operations. The state will manage the central imaging system, called “Detecta”. Currently, São Paulo only monitors 150 cameras through Detecta. In July, with the first installation of new cameras, the system will include footage from about 400 cameras.
