Bengaluru police geo-tags 5.35 lakh CCTV cameras

The Rameshwaram cafe blast suspect was captured on CCTV buying a plate of idli. (file photo)

To enhance public safety and streamline crime control efforts, the Bengaluru city police has geo-tagged more than 5.35 lakh closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the city, so far.

Speaking to media on May 6, Bengaluru city police commissioner B Dayananda said, “This marks a significant jump from 2.32 lakh geo-tagged cameras on January 1, 2024 — an increase of more than 3 lakh cameras in just over a year.”

According to Mobile Companion for Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (MCCTNS) data, these cameras are installed at key locations, including residential and commercial areas, highways, traffic signals, educational institutions, hospitals, and banks.

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“The geo-tagging initiative is designed to provide the police with precise, location-based digital surveillance data, aiding faster and more accurate crime investigations and emergency response,” Dayananda said.

Each camera is assigned a unique identification number. With the completion of the geo-tagging exercise, police now have easy access to information on the availability of surveillance cameras in any given location.

The data is stored on a secure departmental server, accessible only to the police. This system also helps identify surveillance gaps, particularly in areas where crimes have occurred without CCTV coverage, enabling targeted camera installations in the future.

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“The initiative, developed in collaboration with MCCTNS application developers, is expected to support a host of future tech-driven policing programmes such as smart patrolling, digital city security, and analytical investigation systems,” Dayananda added.

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As of April 30, Bengaluru’s West division had the highest number of geo-tagged CCTV cameras at 1.05 lakh followed by Whitefield (1 lakh), South-East (77,786), South (59,804), East (55,355), North (67,457), North-East (51,228), and Central division (18,269).

The police are also enforcing the Karnataka Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Act, 2017, which mandates that commercial establishments, schools, hospitals and a public place with a footfall of 100 at a time or 500 in a day must install CCTV cameras.

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