Residents feel safer with CCTV cams at home

COIMBATORE: Recently, a resident of Sreevatsa Gardens in Thudiyalur, had lost a bag and a pair of shoes left in the verandah outside their home just two hours earlier. Fortunately, the residential complex was equipped with CCTV cameras which had captured the milkman entering the gated community empty handed by leaving it with a bag. When they confronted him, he admitted to the theft.
“These cameras are very useful because they act as a deterrent,” said the complex’s welfare association secretary, V Chandrasekar. The community, with 370 houses, already has eight CCTV cameras but plans to install eight more on their premises.
This is not an isolated incident. Residential welfare associations and gated communities across the city, especially in the newly developing suburbs, have either already installed or are planning to install CCTV cameras. In fact, when residents file a house break-in complaint with the police, they are advised to install these cameras.
“We installed a couple of cameras in our community, because Kuniamuthur Police advised us to do so last year,” said K Barathan, secretary, Sreevatsa Hill View Road. “We had suffered a house break-in last March, so we had to start monitoring entry and exits points,” he said. “We decided to install the CCTV cameras in 2010 following a spike a in burglaries in the city, especially in our area,” said Chandrasekar.
Other residential areas in the city like Saibaba Colony and GV Residency are also planning to install CCTV cameras in their locality. “There were many chain-snatching incidents in the area. This decreased after police increased patrolling in the area,” said Premi Baalu, president of the Bharathi Park Ladies Association. “But now, thieves are targeting homes located in remote areas. And young girls walking home alone in isolated areas are in danger of being attacked,” she said.
A recent incident of molestation in Alagesan Road has prompted the association to start raising money to install CCTV cameras in their area. “Since it is not possible for police to patrol the area round-the-clock, so we decided to buy cameras and construct a room within a park for police to monitor the area,” she added. While their very presence acts as a deterrent, they do not cost much to maintain, says Chandrasekar.
“Besides installation, they do not cost much. A 500 GB drive can store more than three months of footage which can be retrieved if such an incident occurs,” he said. The CCTV cameras costs around 5,000 for a basic model and goes up to 60,000 for better coverage.
Deputy commissioner of police (crime) R V Ramya Bharathi said during weekly residential meetings, the local police station has been educating residents on the importance of taking security measures. “We have been advising residents to install high definition CCTV cameras wherever possible with good storage capacity and back up,” she said. “They are extremely useful in helping the police solve crimes,” she added.