The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Information and Communication Technology Directorate-ICT of the Uganda Police Force has been able to investigate and complete 600 cases in the last three months, thanks to the Security Closed Circuit Television-CCTV cameras.
Allan Nshimiye Rugayampuzi, the Public Relations Officer of the Directorate says that they were able to use the automatic number plate recognition-ANPR cameras, facial recognition cameras and intelligent video system to successfully investigate the cases that are now pending before various courts in the country.
He says that the 600 cases are part of the 800 committed using vehicles ranging from aggravated robberies, murders, kidnaps, human trafficking and car thefts to vehicles that sometimes interfere with the presidential convoy among others.
According to Rugayampunzi, when the national CCTV command centre receives a report on the number plate of any vehicle involved in a crime, they blacklist it before they embark on a search for the vehicle.
“After committing crimes, most drivers tend to hide these vehicles, but when we receive information, we put such a vehicle on our blacklist and start tracking it. Once it returns on the road, the culprits will be apprehended,” Rugayampunzi noted”.
He says that the security CCTV system has also helped them to settle disputes among roads users. “Sometimes drivers or boda-boda riders clash accusing each other of being on the wrong side on the road but when they come to police and footage is played, one of them concedes and the matters get resolved,” he said.
He believes more criminal elements will be captured using the security CCTV system once the installation exercise is completed across the country. Rugayampunzi appeals to Ugandans protesting the security CCTV infrastructure, saying that it was installed for their protection. He scoffs at those who think the cameras don’t work, saying they will not get away with crime.
Police procured 5,552 CCTV cameras for installation in various parts of the country with Kampala Metropolitan taking the bulk of the cameras with 3,233.
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