CCTV cameras homed in over 10,000 crimes during last 15 months

Wijayani Edirisinghe

The Police Department has succeeded in identifying over 10,000 crimes including traffic offences during the last 15 months with the help of CCTV cameras which have been installed in the Colombo city, according to Police. Thirty such crimes have been of a very serious nature including burglaries and abductions.

According to a senior Police officer in charge of the CCTV camera surveillance unit, a large number of offenders could have gone scot-free in the absence of CCTV surveillance cameras in the Colombo city.

The CCTV cameras were installed in the Colombo city on the directive of Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, to identify wrongdoers and bring them to book.

A large number of traffic offenders are also being nabbed with the help of CCTV cameras and the mobile CCTV vehicle.

The Police have been able to round up a large number of criminals involved in extortion, assaults and burglary with the help of CCTV cameras. The investigators succeeded in identifying the vehicles used for such criminal activities with the help of this new system. Over 8,000 persons have been nabbed for violating traffic laws during the past 15 months and over Rs. 20 million earned in the form of fines.

The Police have also been able to uncover very serious crimes that took place in the city during the past two months with the help of these cameras. The number of such serious crimes have not been included in the aforesaid crimes. The Colombo Deputy Inspector General’s Office is executing a silent service by being vigilant to nab offenders in the city round the clock. The officials of this unit are rendering a great service under the directives of its head SSP A. K. Samarasekera and Officer in Charge Inspector A. M. T. G. P. Seneviratne.