Five hundred and seven more CCTVs will be added to the already existing 243 closed circuit surveillance throughout The Bahamas, the final component of the Ministry of National Security’s three pronged approach to fighting crime.

Minister of National Security Marvin Dames, during the signing of a contract with Proficient Business Services for expansion of the CCTV system, reiterated that the investment in technology must remain progressive as the Royal Bahamas Police Force has been in a transformation stage for more than two years to become a more modern and efficient crime fighting organization.

“Perpetrators are always lurking and waiting for opportunities to engage in crimes against a person and/or property and usually they try to conceal their identities by camouflaging themselves or fleeing the crime scenes,” Mr. Dames said.

“Irrespective of the types of crime and their damages, they are all destructive, unacceptable and intolerable.

“There has and continues to be extensive research on the value of closed-circuit television to law enforcement. CCTV surveillance cameras continue to be widely used in policing and have become a critical tool in law enforcement arsenal.”
 
According to the minister, CCTVs have varied “potential applications for public safety” and this is inclusive of preventing crime, detecting offences, improving response time to emergencies and reducing public fear of crime.

“Footage with high resolution will allow the police to watch an entire incident as it unfolds in detail, eventually providing valuable information on the sequence of events, the methods used and the entry and exit routes taken by the offender,” Mr. Dames said.

“The video footage may also be useful to corroborate, refute and/or contextualize other evidence of what transpired during the alleged incident.

“In the fight against crime, the increased use of CCTVs along with other technologies will ensure that The Bahamas will not be left behind.” 

When fully installed, of the grand total, 750 CCTVs, 100 of the cameras will be equipped with license plate recognition capabilities, 100 facial recognition and another 120 with pan tilt zone capabilities in real time.