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Delhi Police to take control of CCTV, restrict public’s access to feed
Since 2020, the vast network of CCTV cameras managed by the PWD has aided the Delhi Police in over 10,000 cases.
The previous AAP-led government began installation of CCTV cameras across the city, and 1.40 lakh each were installed in two phases.
In a move that could significantly restrict public access to footage of CCTV cameras installed by the government, Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golchha is learnt to have directed one of his Special CPs to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Public Works Department (PWD), ensuring footage “passwords are no longer shared with the general public”.
The previous AAP-led government began installation of CCTV cameras across the city, and 1.40 lakh each were installed in two phases. Mostly, CCTV cameras are installed by the PWD on roads, key public spaces, in government buildings and establishments, as well as underpasses.
“Currently, residents and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) have passwords of most of the CCTV cameras to view feeds from the street and neighborhood cameras. They could independently check footage in case of incidents like thefts, children going missing, or minor crimes and share it with the police,” a senior police officer said.
Now, the PWD, however, is set to transfer control of its camera feeds to the Delhi Police. “Golchha, in a recent crime review meeting, said that all CCTV cameras installed in Delhi should be listed out by the district DCPs concerned. A proforma will be circulated in the coming days. He also asked the Special CP (Tech & PI) to finalise the MoU with PWD officials so that passwords of CCTV cameras installed by PWD are not available to the general public,” the officer said.
Now, under the proposed arrangement, passwords and access to footage from PWD-managed CCTV cameras, deployed across key public spaces in the national capital, will be exclusively held by police personnel. “After handover, residents and RWAs, who previously received passwords to view CCTV feeds, will now need to visit local police stations for assistance,” the officer added.
“District DCPs have been tasked with mapping all cameras in their areas to optimise usage for law enforcement. The control room will also shift to police oversight, streamlining monitoring,” the officer said.
Another officer said that under the new arrangement, police can also prevent sensitive footage of heinous crimes from going viral on social media, which often spark public outrage and scrutiny on police.
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Since 2020, the vast network of CCTV cameras managed by the PWD has aided the Delhi Police in over 10,000 cases. “The PWD has shared 12,000 CCTV footage with the police to date. Besides this, more than 10,000 court summons have been attended to by the PWD and Bharat Electronics Limited, the company awarded work for installation and maintenance of CCTVs cameras in Delhi,” according to a government document.
A query has been sent to the Delhi Police spokesperson and their response is awaited.
Nowadays, CCTV footage of crimes committed in the Capital often find their way to the social media. Unhappy that such footage went viral, former Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora had issued an order to district DCPs and unit heads to ensure they are not shared with anyone. In case of any breach, he said, “they (officers) will be responsible for lapse of supervision on this account”.
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