Given the staggering crime rate in Karachi, not many taxpayers would imagine that a sizeable chunk of their money is being used to monitor criminal activity. But that is indeed the case – the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) is using a large portion of its funds on expanding its surveillance system.
KMC will spend Rs541 million on its information technology department in the current fiscal year, which ends in June 2013. If the staff’s salaries and running expenses are excluded, this amount is greater than the combined annual expenditure on all KMC-run hospitals, including Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, as well as the zoo, Safari Park and other departments.
KMC will spend most of this amount – Rs400 million – to set up 200 surveillance cameras along the city’s main roads. This will take the total number of cameras operated by the organisation to over 360. Despite this, the surveillance network will still have massive blind spots since it will not cover thousands of kilometres of narrow streets and lanes, which is where most robberies occur.
“We monitor our own infrastructure. This is to stop people from stealing KMC’s property,” said Masood Alam, the organisation’s senior director of informational technology. “Police and other law enforcement agencies are more than welcome to use our facilities. But our job is not to maintain law and order.”
The control room, which is at KMC’s head office at Civic Centre, has been used by law enforcers to nab some street criminals. Citizens-Police Liaison Committee chief Ahmed Chinoy said footage from a camera at Nazimabad Underpass recently helped foil a bid to hijack a freight truck which was on its way to the SITE industrial zone.
“Our people saw it and we informed the police immediately. The truck loaded with goods was intercepted before it could disappear,” said Chinoy. Many meetings have been held to discuss the installation of surveillance cameras around the city but funds remain an issue, he said. “I think Karachi needs at least 10,000 cameras. London, which is a much smaller city, has over 100,000.”
KMC’s existing video security system covers three corridors. This includes the road going from Karsaz Road to SITE, crossing National Stadium, Hassan Square, Liaquatabad Underpass and Nazimabad Underpass along the way.
The other monitored route starts from Drig Road and covers Rashid Minhas Road all the way to Sohrab Goth. The last and most important network is spread along MA Jinnah Road.
Though it is difficult to ascertain how successful the cameras have been in apprehending criminals, officials insist that the surveillance system has succeeded in preventing some crime.
“An increasing number of people coming out of the airport were getting robbed. Then we installed the cameras and as a result, robberies went down remarkably,” said Dr AD Sajnani who headed the surveillance project for a few months. But he said that the current number of cameras is inadequate. “We need at least 200,000 to make surveillance really useful.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2012.
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