Dubai: In total, government authorities and the private sector in Dubai operate an estimated 30,000 closed-circuit television cameras to monitor the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, police say.
To further bolster safety and security within the emirate, Dubai police say they are now in the process of installing up to 250 new CCTV cameras every year for the foreseen future to cover more problem areas..
The new cameras, however, will use new artificial intelligence security software and equipment that enables the monitoring devices positioned in dense or isolated areas to observe and capture unusual activity to alert authorities.
The number of cameras is far below the UK’s estimated 1.85 million CCTV cameras which account for one camera for every 32 residents in Britain where London is said to be the most-watched city in the world, according to UK media reports.
Colonel Ahmad Thani Bin Ghulaita, Director of Crime Prevention, said CCTV cameras are necessary “in order to prevent the crimes before they happen.”
Bin Ghulaita confirmed the number of new cameras in total will increase by 200 to 250 each year with roughly half of those being new artificial intelligence security devices
“We have plan also to add 120 cameras called artificial intelligence security cameras,” he said.
“In many cases, the technology is a simpler job. It is much easier for the software to spot suspicious activity anywhere by itself,” he said, noting the cameras focus and zoom in on any suspicious person or activity.
Software gauges a situation involving people within the frame and can, thanks to preventative crime computer programming, recognise human movements that are not within the ordinary daily activities, he said.
“Al Rifaa police station and Naif police station now have an operation room and CCTV cameras that monitor each and every single details in the whole area,” he said.
He added that very soon, such cameras will be in Al Rashidiya, Al Qusais, Al Muraqbaat, Bur Dubai and Jebel Ali police stations, and Soon all police stations will have their own CCTV camera monitoring stations for each area of the city“We aim to be like any other developed country in the world and we will cover each and every place in Dubai with CCTV cameras, smart cameras and artificial intelligence security cameras,” he said.
Bin Ghulaita, said crimes in Dubai are mainly about theft from cars, shoplifting and some other crimes that takeplace due to the carelessness of victims.
“There are 22 hot areas in Dubai that most crimes took place,” he said.
The search, meanwhile, continues for new locations to install newly acquired cameras.
Bin Ghulaita said police install the cameras in residential areas on the top of different buildings.
“Sometimes we face resistance from building owners who may refuse to have cameras on the top of their buildings so we try to convince them that this is for the safety and security of the country and in order to have Dubai as the safest oasis,” he said.
He said some of them agree and others refuse.
“If they refuse we try to install the cameras on next building,” he said.
