Uganda is set to rank among some of the most surveilled countries in the region with several closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) cameras for every 100 individuals as one of the ways to help curb crime, the Nile Post has learnt.
According to the police ICT director, Yusuf Ssewanyana, in the next phase of the CCTV project, they will seek to use facial recognition and artificial intelligence as key law enforcement tools for monitoring the country to curb crime.
“We want to increase the density of cameras in cities and towns. In a place like Bwaise and surrounding areas where there is a lot of criminality, we will be tapping into the digital footprints of the population. For example, if someone moves, their vehicle or motorcycle number plate could have been captured or the CCTV cameras captured their face and your smart phone,” Ssewanyana says.
“All movements will be monitored digitally. By increasing the camera density, we are trying to reduce on human intervention in terms of fighting crime. We are to introduce scientific means using Artificial Intelligence. We are going to procure more intelligent cameras with higher performance.”
With the world constantly changing with new technologies and innovative solutions driven by increased security needs , the Police ICT director says they cannot just sit and watch things unfold.
Ssewanyana says whereas government CCTV cameras might not be enough for this project, they will be tapping into private cameras.
“We have fiber network within these areas and we shall come up with specifications of cameras to be installed by private individuals and these will be connected onto our grid. The operational costs for government will be lower because they will be powered by the private individuals.”
AI CCTV cameras
According to the Police ICT director, the cameras to be installed, especially by government all over the country in the next phase of the project will be more sophisticated.
“We are procuring very intelligent cameras, more advanced with sensors and some additional tools,”Ssewanyana says.
This will work in a way that officers at the CCTV centres will view footage and technology will trigger any available cameras in the area to ensure mugshots from the database of criminals pop up and can pair images with facial recognition software to scan CCTV footage for known criminals in the vicinity.
The Police ICT director says they will work with other stakeholders to realise this project.
“We are working with telecom companies to help trace any individual of our interest wherever they will be. The project is already in progress.”
Digital number plates
The idea is to integrate this project to the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) which is a digital monitoring and tracking system for motor vehicles and motorcycles.
This will see vehicles and motorcycles issued with digital number plates.
To this, government recently signed an MOU with Joint Stock Company, a Russian digital security company to manufacture and install digital plates that will help track and identify in real time all vehicles and motorcycles in the country.
This will be of great use in investigating and arresting those involved in crime.
“The president is supportive of the project to ensure crime is curbed. These people who shoot others and jump on motorcycles to run away will be traced easily after installing those gadgets in motorcycles and vehicles. You can’t escape anywhere,”Ssewanyana says.