The rise of urban CCTV systems

Since the first CCTV was installed in 1942, this security system continues its boom around the world; however, it is no longer found only in banking institutions, private companies or government entities, but also in the streets, parks, urban transport and other public places, as is the case in London with the four million surveillance cameras installed throughout the city, or in New York and Paris.

As in Europe and the United States, Latin America is also implementing this technology in public places; in 2007, CCTV was installed in different cities in the region in order to combat common crime, in addition to protecting the inhabitants and visitors of these cities.

In Mexico City, the installation of about 8,000 cameras began in the places where there is greater insecurity; in Cancun, meanwhile, 160 cameras were located in markets, avenues and the hotel zone and in Lima, Peru, the College of Notaries of Lima decided to install four security cameras in Jirón Azágaro to avoid the falsifications that occur in the place.

Like these cities, many others have opted for these surveillance systems, since there is an alarming increase in the criminality of the cities, but also because of the eagerness of the governments to recover the credibility that citizens lost in the political and judicial systems of their respective countries due to the corruption that occurs in these agencies.  

According to Maria Bustamante, of Vicon, sometimes video surveillance programs have served to capture police in illegal transactions and in this way the government is once again that state entity that can be trusted. For his part, Alex Gutiérrez, of Samgung GVI, assures that "the efficiency of having the control and remote monitoring complement exceeds in many cases that of the police officers hanging around the streets, but on the other hand no camera will capture a criminal or support a case of evacuation or emergency, so human presence is indispensable supported by good transport and communications equipment."

Today, CCTV can be linked to different citizen security systems such as radio communication programs, as well as emergency lines or 911, as well as license recognition systems, perimeter protection and scales for weighing trucks for road protection. Also in some Latino cities, police have tested the use of community alarm systems and support plans between monitoring companies and the police. For his part, Carlos Granda, of the integrative firm Datanet, comments that there have also been some incipient links with GPS systems.

But for these security systems to work properly, they must meet some minimum elements ranging from advising the end user on the relevant solutions to meet their needs, the location of the cameras, monitoring, transmission and recording, until the achievement of the budget with the central government.

Another aspect to highlight in Latin American urban CCTV is the mode of transmission, since hybrid systems remain today in an important position, compared to IP systems, which have been growing, since analogues only occupy between 15 and 20% of the installed systems. 

In some cities the results have already been obtained as in Puerto Rico, where a crime reduction of 37% was achieved during the first year of operation; in Culiacán, Mexico, crime fell between 38 and 45%, and in Colombia the video image is already taken by the judicial and traffic authorities as valid evidence in case of a trial for a crime or a traffic infraction.

In this sense, it can be said that citizen CCTV systems have proven their effectiveness in terms of protection and control of crime. Surely within a year we will have information from a greater number of cities that entered the era of urban video surveillance.