By 2020, every nook and corner of Sharjah will be under surveillance as the police aims to install more security cameras across the emirate for crime prevention and detection.
Backed by a decree from the Executive Council, the police, in collaboration with Sharjah Municipality, is also urging building managements to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at the entrance and exit points of all commercial establishments and residential towers, senior officials said.
“In 2020, Sharjah will be fully covered by security cameras in a comprehensive manner,” said Brigadier Mohammed Rashid Bayat, director general of Police Operations.
“In the final phase [of the project], we will be able to connect all shopping malls, currency exchanges and other commercial establishments with the security department,” the officer said while addressing a Foreign Media Forum.
Colonel Dr Ali Bu Al Zoud, deputy director-general of Central Operations, said police are also using the visuals from the security cameras to catch traffic violations. Every single day, we are catching 1,000 to 1,500 traffic violations based on [the recordings from] these cameras,” he revealed.
Earlier, Brigadier Bayat said the police have installed 600 security cameras for surveillance in prime locations of crowded areas like Al Nahda, which was chosen for the launch of a ‘Safe Neighbourhood’ campaign last month. Additional 24/7 police patrols and community awareness drives among commercial establishments are also being undertaken. Commercial establishments are being urged to install CCTV cameras and not leave large amounts of cash in shops.
With these efforts, the campaign has resulted in a major reduction in crimes in the Al Nahda area, said Brigadier Bayat. “We had no major complaints registered from Al Nahda last week. If this model proves successful, we will extend this drive to other areas of Sharjah to achieve our goal of making crime-free communities.”
