Almost 142,000 security cameras have been installed on thousands of buildings in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.
The tiny emirate is mostly mountains and desert, covering 960 square miles with a population of 420,000.
The cameras are mounted on nearly 16,500 buildings across the emirate with the aim of making the capital Ras Al Khaimah City (RAK City) crime free by the end of next year.
The cameras capture the details of every car entering the emirate and tracks the vehicle until the driver departs.
“The sophisticated system, armed with the latest security technologies, is connected with radar and geographic information systems, visual early warning, and ANPR car identification systems,” said Major General Ali Abdullah bin Alwan Al Nuaimi, General Commander of Ras Al Khaimah Police.
Crime prevention
“The system has remarkably curbed and prevented so many crimes, and helped the police track down drivers involved in hit-and-run traffic accidents in record time.
“It has also decreased the percentage of unsolved crimes, particularly thefts in money exchange houses and gold stores.”
Explaining the project in more details, Brigadier Jamal Ahmad Al Tair, Director General of the Public Resources Authority, RAK Police, revealed the cameras are installed on shops, government departments, public institutions, mosques, hospitals, schools, hotels, jewellery shops, villas, as well as residential towers and buildings.
“All the buildings involved have been instructed to put a sticker outside their premises that they are covered by CCTV cameras so that criminals think twice before breaking the law,” he said.
Cameras linked to police HQ
“Now, everybody knows that surveillance is round the clock. Criminals now understand that these cameras are also smart and connected with the police, and they will be certainly caught.
“The RAK Police have so far accredited over 104 service providers so that customers have a variety of options to go with and have their properties secured.
“We have provided intensive training to 4,150 staff engineers and technicians of those 104 service providers.”
“The owner of any facility, particularly gold stores and exchange houses, has a grace period of 30 days to have them secured with these CCTV cameras, and have them linked with the operations room of the RAK Police.”