Gzb: SP City lays stress on importance of CCTV cameras

In a written appeal to residents of high-rises, Akash Tomar, SP City of Ghaziabad, asked residents’ associations on May 30 to recognise the importance of CCTV cameras in residential premises and the benefits of surveillance around living quarters.

Bringing the issue of security to the fore, Tomar urged residents of the city to begin thinking of options to protect their homes with technology, which is not only important for commercial ventures but also important for homes and residential societies. The letter states that CCTV cameras offer great help in checking growing number of cases of theft and loot.

Although many residents were impressed by the initiative, some were skeptical and believe that CCTV cameras are effective only after a crime has taken place.

However, speaking to City Spidey, Tomar maintained that the cameras were also a preventive measure as they deterred trespassers from breaking into CCTV-secured premises.

Various other benefits of CCTV cameras were also listed in the letter. These cameras can help recognise miscreants trying to recce houses, help in remote surveillance and in providing video footage of an incident to the police that can be useful in nabbing the miscreants.

The issue of child-abduction was also highlighted in the letter. It stated that CCTV cameras can help in significantly reducing number of cases of child-abduction or missing children.

Speaking to City Spidey, Alok Kumar, patron of FedAOA, said that coordination between the police and the residents is the need of the hour as residents must be well-connected with the police, which would boost confidence of both. Speaking about CCTV cameras, Kumar said that the federation had already urged AOAs to install high quality cameras outside societies so that they can monitor their neighbourhood.

Speaking about the importance of CCTV cameras, the SP said that in his career, there have been multiple instances when CCTV footage helped nab criminals. “In the presence of CCTV cameras, criminals always tend to leave a footprint that can be tracked by the police,” Tomar said.

On community policing, he said that meetings would be held with RWAs and residents regularly to enhance public-police communication from June.