Traffic violations, child molestation, hit-and-run incidents, illegal activities: How CCTV cameras help Sharjah Police solve crime

Sharjah: Security cameras have immensely helped keep Sharjah safe and secure, a senior official said.

Brigadier General Abdullah Mubarak bin Amer, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, told Gulf News that CCTV cameras in Sharjah aided in tracking movements of 242 vehicles, helped police solve 55 crimes and caught 3,855 negative incidents – including begging, illegal vendor operations and driving violations.

Education is key

A number of traffic violations — including flouting of the seatbelt rule and use of mobile phones rules while driving — were caught on camera.

In one incident, police cameras caught a driver committing traffic violations for a month on a Sharjah road.

When the driver was summoned and notified of his violation, he denied doing it, the official said.The video footage taken from the cameras helped disprove his claim.

The intention of the police is not to impose fines on erring drivers, police said. Rather, it is to educate them about traffic rules and correct their behaviour on the roads.

The official said: “If no one is aware of the crime until after it has been committed, surveillance footage comes in as a crucial piece of evidence during a police investigation. Surveillance cameras have and will always provide a solution to many crimes.”

Tracking criminals

Cameras helped track some criminals who tried to hide their faces behind masks. Hit-and-run crimes and other acts of vandalism are also common inside parking lots, he said.

A good surveillance monitor can easily capture the faces of the suspects or the licence plates of their vehicles.

For example, by reviewing security camera footage, police might be able to verify whether a suspect was in a given area at a particular time and what direction they were heading. That information can help the course of the investigation and give officers solid clues to work on.

Avoiding guesswork

“With security cameras, police don’t have to operate on guesswork; they can use the footage to see that the investigation is headed in the right direction.”

He said security cameras are invaluable to police forces when they are trying to determine the accuracy of other types of evidence.

If they have a statement from a witness in the area of the crime that includes a suspect’s description, investigators can cross-refer to the security cameras to verify whether someone matching that description was in the vicinity of the crime at the time.

Unfailing evidence

There had been numerous cases where cameras have immensely helped in police work, the official added. A case in point was a motorist who ran over a man and escaped.

The police, however, were able to track the movement of the vehicle and found that the driver used a fake number plate which he threw away after the crime.

When the driver initially denied he had used the fake plate number, the camera footage was shown to him, resulting in his confession.

Child molester caught

In another case, a man who molested a 14-year-old girl was caught, thanks to a surveillance camera.

Similarly, another man who molested an eight-year-old boy in a building under construction was also arrested with the help of CCTV footage.

In yet another case, a motorist claimed his car was burnt suddenly and he did not know how it happened. By reviewing CCTV footage, police found the motorist poured petrol on his vehicle and deliberately set it on fire to claim insurance.

Moreover, several stolen cars were also recovered, thanks to CCTV footage.

In one incident, police received a call about a stolen vehicle coming from Abu Dhabi. When the car entered Sharjah, police cameras spotted it, tracked its movement and arrested the driver.