HYDERABAD: Telangana continues to hold the top position in the country in the number of CCTV surveillance cameras installed by the police, revealed Data On Police Organisations (DOPO) 2021 released by the Bureau of Police Research and Development. With 2,82,558 cameras, Telangana stands first in the country, followed only by Tamil Nadu with 1,50,254 CCTV cameras, which translates into 50 per cent of all CCTVs installed across the country are in Telangana.
Telangana Police has been successful in detecting several sensational cases and nabbing the accused with the help of footage collected from CCTV cameras including the case of the gang rape and brutal murder of a veterinarian in November 2019, after her charred body was found in an underpass of a highway.
The police department has been successful in roping in corporates and MNCs to help in the mission of installing CCTVs, using their CSR funds. Further to increase the network of CCTVs and coverage to every nook and corner, the police has also launched Nenu Saitham Project under which the members of the public install cameras in their premises, covering a public area or a road outside their houses. The police aims to install 10 lakh CCTV cameras across the State, very soon.
The Telangana police have 254 animals, the fifth highest in the country, including 62 tracker dogs, 150 sniffer dogs and 40 horses, it said. However, the data reveals Telangana stands behind many other States in terms of the number of police dogs and other supporting equipment in enforcement like speed guns and breath analysers.
Also, Telangana police which are known for imposing hefty fines for speeding on the roads have only 54 speed guns, while Tamil Nadu (298), Bengal (204), Maharashtra (183), Up (149) and Karnataka (122) are among the top five.