CAIRO - Sale and installation rates of surveillance cameras have increased in Cairo after a wave of violent crimes hit the capital since the January 25 revolution broke out, two traders said. The traders said that property owners as well as Government agencies have gone ahead with ambitious plans to start/expand the use of surveillance cameras to reduce violent crimes in the Greater Cairo area. The cameras that monitor and record 24 hours a day should be installed in key areas such as the underground metro stations, major squares, highways, and outside ministry buildings and villas, they agreed. "A noticeable increase in the sales of surveillance cameras comes after a series of break and entry crimes that hit the capital recently," said Fahmi Omran, owner of a shop that sells security equipment and home safes. Omran said that these cameras would help reduce crime when used for public surveillance especially in high-value places like metro and train stations, bus terminals, public parks, museums, and apartment blocks and even the streets. "At present, banks, embassies and private department stores in Cairo and Giza are using closed-circuit video systems that are designed for round-the-clock monitoring," he said. Fathi Rasheed, another shop owner in Attaba, agreed with Omran's view. "These cameras are very useful tools for law enforcement agencies and effective deterrents to crime across the nation," Rasheed said. He cited the cameras' effectiveness against crime as they helped Cairo police establish the identity of culprits behind many cases of murder, bank robberies and shop looting recently. "The police were able to identify prime male and female suspects in these cases and track them down with the use of cameras that monitored the entrance and exit gates of apartment blocks and big supermarkets in Cairo and Giza," he said. "They are also very useful in following up on crime," Rasheed said. These cameras, which are equipped with motion sensors and night vision technology, should stand guard over parks, schools, office buildings, shopping malls and even traffic intersections in major Egyptian cities, he recommended. The surveillance/video cameras are credited with spotting everything from burglars to killers, he added. It is lamentable, however, that there are no statistics available to show crime levels before and after the cameras are installed, some customers argue. Ahmed Samir, a potential customer planning to buy one of these cameras, said that crimes might occur despite the presence of cameras because they could be stolen or damaged by outlaws and vandals. Before installing these cameras, the people want more police officers/men on the street to prevent crime, Samir, a villa owner, said, commenting on news that Cairo Governor Abdul Qawi Khalifa planned to install 3,000 surveillance cameras in the city's streets. He said that the buying, installation, operating, and maintenance costs of these 3,000 cameras would be higher than salaries and benefits for police officers/men over time. He said that the price of one single camera might exceed LE5,000 now that Egypt does not produce this kind of hi-tech equipment. These cameras are imported from European and Asian countries, Rasheed said, adding the the most expensive cameras come from the United States. "The price of a US-built camera exceeds $3,000," he said. However, Samir said that surveillance cameras can be defeated with inexpensive, low-tech means, such as a piece of paper, a paint, or a spray. "Even when a crime occurs, police investigators will be busy watching hours and hours of video tapes. And while they are doing that, they are not investigating crime," Samir told The Egyptian Gazette.
