Work to improve and install Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) systems along roads in the capital is now more than 20 percent complete, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
Cameras have been installed around Vientiane to help the police investigate crimes by examining the images they capture.
The system was first installed more than six years ago and has helped the police with their investigations. But now many of the cameras are broken and the system is in need of improvement.
Last month the Ministry of Public Security, in cooperation with Huawei Lao PDR, officially opened the Government Hotline and Police Command Centre Project in Vientiane in a move to help police monitor crimes and social issues.
The project is one of the government’s priorities, completed at a cost of over US$39.9 million or about 323
billion kip in loans from the Chinese government, with the Lao government contributing 20.6 billion kip.
The project will set up a hotline reporting system using the emergency number 1191 so that the public can report on social issues.
Director of the Communications Department at the Ministry of Public Security, Colonel Phimpha Siphoxay, told Vientiane Times yesterday that more than 200 CCTV cameras had been repaired and new ones were now being installed.
Altogether there will be about 700 CCTV cameras, including old ones, on the city’s streets. It is expected that in eight months’ time all of the cameras will be installed and operational.
The cameras will be used to monitor traffic violations so that police can deliver requests for fine payments to offenders’ houses.
The modernisation of the system will help to improve the efficiency of police operations, through the use of modern vehicles and cutting- edge multimedia dispatch and command equipment using Huawei’s 4G technology.
The project will enable police officers to oversee situations in real-time and assist in the preparation and planning to dispatch officers to the scene immediately.
It will especially help police to track drivers and vehicles after hit-and-run accidents when drivers flee the scene of an accident, following a spate of such incidents in the capital.
The new surveillance cameras will enable members of the public to turn to police for help when facing an emergency situation. The system will also allow police officers to prevent or resolve incidents or disturbances immediately, using the advanced police command centre.
People who wish to report an emergency or are in need of assistance from the police can call the 1191 hotline from any telecoms service provider free of charge.
Source: Vientiane Times
