Outdated technology incompatible with hundreds of modern cameras

Two ‘scanners’ go missing

Authority faces shortage of technical staff as over 50 seats vacant

ISLAMABAD: The Safe City project does not support more than 800 modern closed-circuit television cameras installed across the capital over the past couple of years, as the technology developed to make the project operational in 2014 has reportedly become obsolete, insiders told Dawn.

Similarly, more than 50 technical posts in the authority are lying vacant for quite some time, with the high-ups making do with stop-gap arrangements in the absence of qualified staff.

Police officials said the project launched in 2014 had cost the national exchequer more than $125 million and featured more than 1950 cameras installed on thoroughfares and sensitive locations in 2016 when it was formally inaugurated. The control room was equipped with over 70 LCDs. Interestingly, none of the cameras had night vision technology.

Sources told Dawn that the software and surveillance technology developed in 2014 has mostly become obsolete, adding that the number of cameras increased to 2,800 after the installation of 850 cameras having the latest technology. “These new cameras are not supported by the old technology being used by the authority,” insiders said, adding that the purchase of these cameras was a loss to the national exchequer.

The officers concerned were informed about these hiccups but they did not pay heed to the reservations expressed by the staff and continued to have a “non-professional” attitude towards the project, the sources added.

Moreover, the monitoring screen in the control room has also malfunctioned. The “information/slide bars at the right and left sides of the big screen holding the LCDs are also out of order,” said sources.

“These slide bars were used to update information in response to emergency calls or any other mishaps,” they said, claiming 90 per cent of the system had become archaic, unable to produce desired results due to its incompatibility with the modern and latest technology. “There is a need for SMD screens for the newly installed 850 cameras,” they added.

In a recent incident, the Safe City Authority failed to trace a vehicle used to steal more than 60 garbage bins from the capital. The reason given by the technical wing was that its cameras could not read the number plate of the van.

Another problem that plagues the authority is the shortage of technical staff. “More than 50 seats are vacant but instead of recruiting qualified staffers, three to four officers are charged to look after at least nine roles,” sources said, adding that staffers without the technical know-how were also being asked to perform additional duties on these posts on a rotational basis.

The problems in the surveillance project have made it a target for criminals. On September 2, a camera installed near Margalla police station was stolen, but the authority remained unaware of the theft for more than two weeks.

Furthermore, two scanners – vehicles used for surveillance – have also disappeared. The authority had purchased four scanners for Rs1 billion, but out of them, only two had reached Islamabad. And now their whereabouts are also not known, sources added.

Dawn approached Police Public Relations Branch head DIG Headquarters Awais Ahmed, but he asked the correspondent to consult Safe City Authority DG Shoaib Janbaz. Mr Janbaz said, “I have told [the] PRO; he will respond.” However, PRO Taqi Jawad was approached on Thursday, but till the filing of this report, he remained unavailable.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2023