In its bid to beef up security through close monitoring of situations, the Uganda Police Force has started on the second phase of CCTV Camera installation in different municipalities of Uganda.
According to the law enforcement body, it has moved to this stage after successfully completing phase one that involved coverage of the Kampala Metropolitan area and Wakiso district.
A total of 3323 cameras were installed in phase one and are all in operation, under use by the security agencies.
According to a brief by Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga, the second phase is ongoing in 15 municipalities that is; Jinja, Tororo, Iganga, Mbale, Soroti, Arua, Kumi, Gulu, Lira and Beshenyi among others.
“We are supposed to install 2019 cameras planned for phase two and so far 967 cameras have been installed, that’s about 45%,” said Enanga.
He revealed that the progress was slightly affected by the Covid-19 lockdown but now, full implementation of the project has resumed.
Reports from police indicate that the popularity of CCTV and its usage is growing rapidly because of their many benefits.
In Kampala, significant benefits have been realized in redirecting incidents of crime especially car theft which has since dropped.
Also, police said that robberies within the city centre and major roads and highways, cases of pick pocketing, simple robbery and issues of civil disturbances have been reduced due to the presence of security cameras.
However, in Kampala, there are 63 cameras which are currently not under operation due to the ongoing road construction works in different areas.
For security reasons, Enanga declined to mention the affected areas but he noted that they have been withdrawn, pending completion of the construction works.
