BENGALURU: Commercial establishments in the city as well as other public places will soon have to compulsorily install closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) surveillance systems in order to help the city administration crack down on crime.
Close on the heels of the Delhi government announcing that they would install 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras, the Karnataka legislature has cleared the Karnataka Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Bill, which makes it mandatory to install surveillance systems at places where large number of people gather. These include commercial establishments, shops, bus stations, railway stations, religious complexes, educational institutions and other spots.
The Bill envisages installation of surveillance systems in order to create a visual record of individuals to prevent, track and detect crimes, including theft. With a population of over 1.3 crore, currently the city has only 5.4 lakh cameras, besides 2,000 installed in government-owned buildings.
“If there will be CCTVs, criminals will fear getting caught and this will reduce the crime rate. CCTVs that can record in high definition are recommended and these should be functional even during non-business hours and the night hours. We are giving a time of three months to comply with this decision. Those not following the instructions will be penalized,” Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy told Express.
The establishments will also have to store footage for up to 30 days and provide a status update on the system every three months to the local police inspector. Penalties of `2,000 for the first offence and `4,000 for the second offence have also been listed out if the establishments do not comply with the rules.
Those who choose not to install CCTVs on their premises within three months will face a fine of `5,000 for the first time and `10,000 if they still fail to follow the guidelines. The officer in charge of checking compliance will be the local police inspector, the rules state.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will also pitch in with around 8,000 CCTV cameras of its own. This will take the total to 10,000 cameras operated by the BBMP alone. “We have allocated `20 crore and each ward will get `10 lakh for this project. We will work with the police who will designate the spots to install these cameras. We will also cover garbage blackspots as well,” said BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad.