Big brother is watching in DHA but with eyes wide shut

Despite spending Rs170m, DHA is hardly any better prepared to beat crime.

KARACHI:

Despite spending millions of rupees to equip its vigilance teams and installing security cameras, the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) seems to have had made no major breakthrough in reducing the number of crimes committed within its jurisdiction.

In fact, according to statistics provided by Clifton Police, the overall number of robberies in the Clifton area from January to August 2012 almost doubled (from 34 to 62) from the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, DHA’s vigilance teams and law enforcement agencies have yet to figure out a way in which the two can work together to tackle crime in the area.

“It’s not that they [DHA] doesn’t cooperate with us. But we have to go to them and request them to see [CCTV] videos,” says Clifton SP Dr Farrukh Ahmed, who assumed charge this April. Since then, the number of robberies in Clifton has significantly gone down.

According to the DHA, nearly 120 surveillance cameras have been put up in the area, many of which became operational around Eid. The cost: Rs170 million. They are placed at several “focal points,” and DHA plans to add another 260 cameras. It has footed the bill for surveillance.

However, SP Ahmed remains unimpressed by all the high-tech gear employed by DHA to ostensibly protect its residents. “There has not been a single case in which security cameras [provided] actionable intelligence,” claims Ahmed. “When something happens, then the vigilance team shows up. But I’m not sure what kind of powers they have, as they also need [official] law enforcement personnel as well.”

DHA’s vigilance authorities are legally allowed to carry weapons, but do not have the power to make arrests. “Anytime we see someone getting mugged or [come to know of any crime], we inform the police. Our vigilance guards also reach the spot but ultimately it is the police’s job to take action,” counters DHA spokesperson Rafat Naqvi.

While the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee has a central command room, its chief, Ahmed Chinoy, says that DHA has never expressed willingness to be a part of it. “We would be more than happy to help DHA, and all stakeholders, including those [residents] with cameras set up in their homes, to be a part of this project.”

Both Chinoy and Ahmed expressed the need for a centralised system that would enable law enforcement agencies to share information with each other, so that all relevant authorities, including emergency care services and the fire department, could be alerted in real time when an incident takes place. However, Ahmed added that it was not just DHA, but other entities such as banks and other commercial enterprises that needed to be made part of the centralised system as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2012.