WHAT ARE THE CAMERAS DOING?

Daily Post 3003
WHAT ARE THE CAMERAS DOING?

What the cameras are doing* is the common refrain after having public domain CCTV cameras for around two decades now. It has been the creation of the police; projects created, installed, owned and operated by them. Huge amounts of public money have been utilized to provide the next level of video surveillance enabled security cover and fine tuned regulated traffic to the masses. It was to act as a force multiplier, the third eye, bringing down the use of manpower, simultaneously, providing precision and data to enable a variety of police duties, seamlessly and at par with the best in the world.

What has been the change on the road, leaving aside the city based video surveillance, which is certainly more nebulous and parameters, if any, are unknown to the public at large. In a research study on impact analysis of the effectiveness of CCTV cameras across seven cities across the country, there were not many where a visible satisfaction could be seen, from a parameterized point of view. Unfortunately, most of it could be termed as work in progress and that too for very long periods of time. It belies all hope of successful completion* and project delivery anytime in the near future, and by them the already installed technology is bound to become obsolete.

For purposes of better understanding we will use two of the unknown and presumably successful projects. It’s better to start with a recent headline; “AI cameras on Bengaluru-Mysore Highway detect 13 lakhs violations, slap Rs. 90 crores in fines in 3 years. The technology is touted and so are the cameras, they can do what we want them to do, and the wherewithal which we have created to make it happen, tech and expertise. Twelve such cameras are installed along the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. These cases have been registered between 2022 to 2024. Government figures push you to be an expert in reading between the lines.

Fines imposed and realised can rattle your brains. Of the Rs. 94 crore fines imposed, the realised amount in the three years is only Rs, 4 crores. What a colossal waste of all the efforts is the violators don’t feel the heat. The inherently contradictory police tech rigmarole does not end here. Out of the total 13 lakhs cases booked, only 74,000 have been cleared in three years. For sure we don’t wherewithal to take it to its logical conclusion and make the violators feel the heat. As of now, it still looks like a research project, three years into its operation. As for the 200 plus AI enabled traffic signals, some data on ease has been released, which needs to be comprehensively validated and relentlessly pursued. Without having any data with regards to violations, one can only say that the mayhem of the road, covered by these signals is in no way different from the ones not covered by these.

CAMERAS AT BEST HAVE HAD A BADLY TRUNCATED DELIVERY FROM THE PURELY FUNCTIONAL POINT OF VIEW.
Sanjay Sahay

 

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