Mexico. Deputy Esthela Damián Peralta reported that in this year's budget package, the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District (ALDF) approved resources for 900 million pesos (US$72.2 million) for the installation of 7,000 video surveillance cameras in strategic points of the Federal District, in addition to those already existing, mainly in housing units.
The president of the Budget Committee of the ALDF indicated that for this purpose the Ministry of Finance, the Secretariat of Public Security, the Attorney General's Office and the Monitoring and Command Center of the Emergency Care Center of Mexico City will work in a coordinated manner.
He explained that when giving continuity to the 'Safe City' program, the Head of Government of the DF, Miguel Ángel Mancera, considered it essential to efficiently attend to all kinds of eventualities and react immediately to emergencies, because the capital faces challenges in the fight against crime, forecasting damage resulting from meteorological and seismic phenomena, among others.
He stressed that this project, which to date includes the real-time operation of more than 13,000 video cameras distributed in strategic points of the capital, has placed the Federal District among the first cities worldwide in terms of urban security, by incorporating high technology to guarantee the tranquility of its inhabitants.
After recalling that the first camera considered within this security strategy was installed in May 2009, Damián Peralta reported that to date thousands of videos have been delivered to the different investigation units to resolve the commission of various crimes.
He also announced that to implement this surveillance system with video cameras, the GDF analyzed the programs that have been implemented in countries such as Israel, England, Singapore; France, the United States and Colombia, 'in this way, sought to implement the "Safe City" program based on the needs of the capital of Mexico'.
He recognized that the investment that must be made in the acquisition of these devices is important, but undoubtedly necessary in order to consolidate prevention and, where appropriate, the timely reaction to the various crimes that are committed to date in the city.
