Big Brother will be watching you in Windhoek – soon

THE Police in Windhoek will soon gain a new ally in the form of surveillance cameras that will be put up at various places in the city.
According to Mayor Matheus Shikongo’s recently released annual report, the municipality has already identified locations where cameras will be set up, and has set up a control room from which to monitor public spaces.

Shikongo said Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) equipment will be bought and installed during the current financial year. Tenders for installing the systems will be advertised soon.The City Police are planning training for its officers to use the new technology, and are further working on a computerised crime register and mapping system.The CCTV project will add to the City Police’s emphasis on working with security companies and neighbourhood watches to increase the reporting of criminal activities in communities.Internationally, the success of CCTV cameras in fighting crime has been questioned.Common complaints are that CCTV footage rarely secures a conviction on its own, and that often the cameras aren’t instrumental in stopping a crime from happening.In Glasgow, Scotland, for example, police information revealed that between April 2007 and March 2008, just more than 1 500 on-the-scene arrests were made although 14 264 incidents were caught on CCTV.However, positive spin-offs have also been recorded.In various cities, CCTV being credited for helping in the search for missing children and in helping town councils spot local problems such as burst water mains and abandoned cars.In an interview with The Namibian last week, City Police Chief Abraham Kanime said his force will use CCTV to identify areas that need concentrated Police efforts.