Minister of state for home, Satej Patil of Kolhapur recently visited the UK with state home minister RR Patil and other officers to study the CCTV system.
Satej Patil gave Mohsin Mulla a peek into the government’s proposed plans to introduce a CCTV system in Mumbai and other large cities of Maharashtra.
How does the CCTV system work in the UK?
The CCTV cameras were first installed in the UK in 1967. Now, there are lakhs of cameras throughout the country which serve as the backbone for the security system. This CCTV driven system has integrated 43 different departments in the UK. There is a state department for CCTV surveillance.
The back-end support for CCTV surveillance is very crucial. The control room monitors and analyses the data generated by these CCTVs and issues alerts accordingly. We noticed on our tour that this system was very important in detecting as well as averting crime.
In the UK, the ownership of CCTVs is with the civic bodies, besides there are privately installed CCTVs at malls and multiplexes. The government’s CCTV department advises private parties to choose the right type of CCTVs.
Is it possible to replicate a similar system in Mumbai?
Mumbai is a very busy city where big events keep happening everyday in different fields like sports, politics and culture. It is difficult to monitor everything. There are some technical issues like storage of data generated by the CCTV system. We need to work on these issues first.
We have not set any time limit to implement this system in Mumbai but will chalk out a master plan to have the best system for Mumbai.
However, all police stations in Maharashtra will soon go online to ensure speedy exchange of information, data transfer and alerts.
What is the immediate action plan to implement this system in Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra?
We have issued a tender for installing the CCTV system in Mumbai. The government wants a flawless system in place. As the back-end support system plays the most important role, we are keen to have a good system in place. The British government officials will guide us on this matter. We will proceed in a phase-wise manner to implement this system.
In addition to Mumbai, the government plans to set up the CCTV systems in Pune and Nagpur. Along with the CCTV surveillance system, the state forensic science laboratory will also be upgraded and we will give modern equipment to the police.
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