‘Our cameras have helped police in probes’

Nandkumar Chougule, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), admits that the traffic police have made some mistakes, such as not taking into account the maintenance of the equipment, while installing the first batch of CCTV cameras at vital.

Nandkumar Chougule, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), admits that the traffic police have made some mistakes, such as not taking into account the maintenance of the equipment, while installing the first batch of CCTV cameras at vital.

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There have been several issues with the CCTV cameras set up at junctions. How satisfactory have been the results?

We are getting around 60% results. Though it may not be the optimum, it still is a satisfactory… our cameras have helped the police in their investigations. We have also provided footage recorded on these cameras for cases such as the 26/11 terror attacks, the Marine Drive accident and even in small-time street crimes.

What is affecting the cameras?

There are several reasons. The cameras have malfunctioned at times and their repair and maintenance take time.

We also do not have cameras with night vision ability. To add to the problem, the reflection from headlights hampers the recording ability of the cameras. Even monsoon plays a major factor because water that gathers on the road reflects the light from street lamps and headlights, distorting visuals.

The problem of cameras being unable to record at night should have been addressed at the time of deciding on the type of cameras.

There were cost constraints. We had a limited budget and the night vision cameras would have cost us more.

But why do maintenance problems exist?

Sometimes there are technical faults, while at other times the connecting wire gets cut due to some reason.

Even when roads are dug up, the cameras get affected and it takes time to repair them.

But were these problems not discussed before installation?

We are learning from our mistakes. Now the proposals for buying and installation of cameras includes a clause on maintenance. We have written to the BMC to provide us with a specialised team to maintain the cameras. This team would be available to us 24x7.