By Howard Walker, Staff ReporterSEVERAL OF the newly-installed Closed Circuit Television cameras (CCTV), which were installed to provide the police with surveillance of certain commercial districts in the Corporate Area of Kingston and St. Andrew, have been vandalised.
Lucius Thomas, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) for Crime, said he had heard of one being taken down somewhere, but he could not say where, because he had not been briefed on the matter.
"There is argument on the ground but I can't speak with authenticity. It has not been reported to me," Thomas told The Gleaner yesterday.
However, The Gleaner was reliably informed that several of the cameras installed in the downtown Kingston business district have been vandalised.
Usually, the cameras are mounted on roofs, walls or on street posts.
"In one instance, on Port Royal Street, they just come and take away everything including the light post," said a source who asked not to be identified.
The number of cameras installed could not be ascertained, but according to DCP Thomas, several are being installed in various public places throughout the Corporate Area.
"The project is up and running and we are going through our teething process," Thomas said.
According to him, two companies are installing the cameras and when the project is finished one will be chosen to monitor the installations. "We are going through the process of selecting one ..." he said.
Asked how the cameras would be protected from vandals, DCP Thomas said that extensive research and assessment had been done. He said the cameras could "withstand whatever can happen to them."
He said that in areas that were "not too friendly", there were ways and means of protecting the equipment. "In a hostile environment you have to do that ... Technology these days have ways and means of protecting itself."
In March 2003, the police acquired a building on Harbour Street, downtown Kingston, from which to begin the surveillance of the commercial districts in downtown Kingston with closed circuit television cameras. The proposal to install CCTV provoked public debate, with sections of the public arguing that it was an infringement on their rights. Others felt the police should have gone ahead and installed the cameras without informing the citizenry.
The move to install the cameras forms part of the Jamaica Cons-tabulary's anti-crime initiative.
Efforts last night to contact Dr. Peter Phillips, Minister of National Security, for comment were unsuccessful. So too, were efforts to reach Lieutenant Colonel Richard Saddler, who is said to have overall responsibility for the programme.
the light post," said a source who asked not to be identified.
The number of cameras installed could not be ascertained, but according to DCP Thomas, several are being installed in various public places throughout the Corporate Area.
"The project is up and running and we are going through our teething process," Thomas said.
According to him, two companies are installing the cameras and when the project is finished one will be chosen to monitor the installations. "We are going through the process of selecting one ..." he said.
Asked how the cameras would be shielded from vandals, DCP Thomas said that extensive research and assessment had been done. He said the cameras could "withstand whatever can happen to them".
He said that in areas that were "not too friendly", there were ways and means of protecting the equipment. "In a hostile environment you have to do that ... Technology these days have ways and means of protecting itself."
In March 2003, the police acquired a building on Harbour Street, downtown Kingston, from which to begin the surveillance of the commercial districts in downtown Kingston with closed circuit television cameras. The proposal to install CCTV provoked public debate with sections of the public arguing that it was an infringement on their rights. Others felt the police should have gone ahead and installed the cameras without informing the citizenry.
The move to install the cameras forms part of the Jamaica Constabulary's anti-crime initiative.
Efforts last night to contact Dr. Peter Phillips, Minister of National Security, for comment, were unsuccessful. So too, were efforts to reach Lieutenant Colonel Richard Saddler, who is said to have overall responsibility for the programme.
