Criminals find haven in areas with no CCTV coverage

Kampala, Uganda  | THE INDEPENDENT |  Uganda Police Force has advised the general public to be more vigilant while in places that are not covered by CCTV security cameras within the Kampala Metropolitan area.  The call came as police listed places where CCTV camera’s remain non functional, some of which have now become a haven for criminals.  

They include the Kampala flyover corridor that covers Clock Tower, the stretch between Clock Tower and Nsambya Traffic Lights, Nsambya to Mukwano, Mukwano to Electoral Commission and Wampewo Gardens. Other places where CCTV cameras are not functioning, according to police, include Kira, Kasangati, Matugga, Ntinda and Naalya, mostly in Wakiso District.

Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga, said that plans to install cameras in these places were thwarted by ongoing road construction works, installation of underground water pipes, planting and erecting of telecom cable wires.  

Apart from road construction and installation of telecom cables, police said CCTV operations are also affected by the intermittent power supply adding that whenever camera’s go off, police to resort to manual investigations.  

Enanga says that the police Directorate of Information Communication Technology –ICT headed by Commissioner of Police Felix Baryamwisaki is engaging Kampala Capital City Authority–KCCA’s planning department to come up with a solution that would minimize destabilizing CCTV camera operations.  

Asked on whether the revelations would not alert criminals to terrorize citizens knowing that cameras are not there to record their ruthless activities, Enanga said it is better police informs the public than making them believe that cameras are functioning.  

Police said members of public have been criticizing police whenever a crime incident happens where there is a camera and it is not captured. Enanga said making the public know places that could be exploited by criminals helps people to be extra vigilant.  

more than 3,000 cameras were installed in the Kampala Metropolitan area which covers Kampala City, Wakiso and Mukono districts. More than 500 cases of robbery, murder, accidents, theft and burglary have been handled in the last six months with the help of CCTV cameras.

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