Bermuda launches major crime initiative
Bermuda’s government has begun installing a comprehensive network of CCTV cameras throughout the island, with National Security Minister Michael Weeks warning criminals that “someone has eyes on you.”
The government hopes that the system, which includes over 250 cameras, will be completely operational by the end of the year. There are now only 75 cameras in service.
However, Weeks stated that it is not just the blanket coverage of cameras that will revolutionize the fight against crime, and that authorities will rely on new technology that will allow surveillance equipment to provide higher resolution images, while analytics will allow police to identify suspects and vehicles far more easily.
“I think it can only help and enhance the police’s ability to combat crime, and the public knowing that the CCTV is there – someone has eyes on you – that is a deterrent factor for those who may be considering doing any kind of crime,” Weeks told the Royal Gazette.
.”I have a message for the public: once implemented, this CCTV system will increase the overall sense of safety and security in the country.” So those who are engaging in questionable behavior should be cautious,” he stressed.
Darrin Simons, Commissioner of Police, stated that cutting-edge crime-fighting technology will expedite investigations.
“The new system will have the ability to apply analytics.” One of the difficulties now is that if something happens, you must work your way back, and there are cameras here and there, so you must check each one, and then the spider’s web falls apart.
“It will be able to take a key frame from where the incident occurred, or as close as possible, and then say ‘find me this vehicle across the entire system,” he said, adding that “those kinds of advances are going to help.”
“The challenge of having some frames here and then having to look back through all these cameras and all this footage over all this time – there’s a serious amount of time and resources that takes,” Simons said, adding that “we’re really hopeful that the new technology will speed that up.”
The first part of the project is intended to be completed by the end of the year, with further modifications, such as speed monitoring and facial recognition capabilities, implemented during the second phase, which is scheduled to begin in early 2024.
Weeks stated that combating crime was at the top of his ministry’s priority list, stating that “we are currently in a situation where crime has been a major issue – gun crime, other violent crime.”
“Crime is a priority because the safety of our country is critical.” Crime exists, and there will always be some perpetrators, but must we abandon our efforts to keep our citizens safe?”
