State-of-the-art ‘intelligent’ CCTVs to monitor city traffic

Linked to an ‘intelligent server’,these cameras when fed with the registration number of an offending vehicle,involved in a crime or stolen,immediately keeps an eye on each passing vehicle in its radar. They have the facility of automatically reading the number plate of a vehicle. This feature is known as Automatic number plate reading capability (ANPR).

The camera can automatically zoom in on the registration number of a vehicle and if it spots the offending vehicle it immediately alerts the server.

Even if a crime has been committed in another state,the concerned police officials can upload the data on the national server and alert the concerned district/state. Another unique feature which the ‘intelligent cameras’ have is of ‘red light violation detection system (RLVD)’. The moment a traffic offender jumps a red light,the camera registers it and automatically generates a traffic challan. Linked to a computer,the camera generates a printed challan within 20 seconds. The challan will bear a unique bar coded stamp. The same can then be dispatched to the violator for recovery of penalty.

“These cameras leave no room for human error and discretion. Citing and compiling traffic offences with the help of existing CCTV cameras is time consuming and leaves ample room for human error and discretion,” said a senior police officer,adding,that the existing cameras are ‘not intelligent’.

Another feature is that of night vision facility. Any traffic offence committed during night can be spotted with precision on the new cameras. Moreover,the new cameras will be linked to the data base of the National Crime Record. All vehicles entering the city can be scanned by the help of such cameras. A proposal to procure nearly 90 such cameras has been prepared by the Chandigarh Police. The same has been sent to the Chandigarh Administration by the Chandigarh Police seeking clearance for the policy decision.

The recommendation was sent after a committee of senior UT Police officers visited the Delhi control room which possess such intelligent cameras. The Administration has been urged to frame a policy to procure such cameras. The committee has opined that cameras with such unique features will facilitate the police force in cracking crime incidents and nabbing criminals.

At present,there are a total of 216 CCTV cameras in the city. Nearly 40 per cent of the cameras were lying defective till last month. It was only after the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s reprimand that the Chandigarh Police had taken up the matter with the Administration to get the defective cameras repaired.

Inspector General of Police R P Upadhyaya had shot off a letter on July 30 to the Advisor,Finance Secretary and Chief Engineer asking to resolve the dispute between the engineering department and the multi-national company,Schneider Eletric India private Limited. The company had installed the majority of the cameras in the city beautiful. A dispute had arose between the company and the electrical division regarding payment,read the letter written by Upadhyaya.

“This is vital in public interest because crime and traffic violation detection,investigation and prosecution is a very sensitive and important matter”,Upadhyaya stated in the letter.