ISLAMABAD: In order to increase the amount of CCTV cameras and manpower for the Safe City Programme, the capital police asked the Ministry of the Interior.
Talking to Dawn, a police official said on condition of anonymity that Islamabad Safe City Project officials were pursuing an additional 4,000 cameras in the city.
“A decade ago, the Safe City Project was approved and since then the capital has expanded and its population has risen sharply,” the official said, adding that 1,905 cameras are currently mounted on various roads, highways, major and critical facilities and markets.
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They only cover 35pc of the capital’s territory, the official said. Many cameras do not have night vision facilities, because they are obsolete.
Cameras on several markets, roads and points of entry and exit have not been built, the official said. In addition to hundreds of avenues in the wooded regions and nullahs used by criminals to reach the city and leave without being detected, there are over 100 metal and unmetalled entry and exit points.
In addition, the Ministry of the Interior has been asked to increase the manpower for the programme, he added.
The official said that the police officers in the area did not get reports on offenders due to manpower shortages.
In the meantime, a police spokesman said Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Afzaal Ahmed Kausar had advised all officials to curtail car lifting accidents by using Secure City cameras to assist them.
A meeting to review a plan to curb car lifting accidents was conducted and a ban on car thefts was ordered. The meeting was attended by DSP CIA and the Anti-Car Lifting Cell in-charge, among others.
The DIG (Operations) laid out extensive steps to ensure that car robbers are prosecuted, auto-theft incidents are curbed and the actions of those involved in the crime are tracked and released after their probation has been served.
In addition to using the latest technologies of CCTV cameras, he requested officials to ensure successful patrolling in busy parts of the city.
Recommendations for curbing auto-theft cases were provided by the officials concerned during the meeting.
They also told the meeting that because of the lack of cameras and personnel, the Healthy City Project office did not have productive and necessary material.
The officials said that auto-thieves are striking anywhere and at every time in the capital.
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They took the vehicles to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa using hundreds of unfrequented highways. The officials said these roads had no police coverage or CCTV cameras.
They either sell them there or export them to a neighbouring country after transporting the robbed and snatched vehicles to KP, or break them into pieces, said the officials.
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