Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV Cameras) put in place by the police in the Acholi Sub Region aren’t working as well as they should because of things like power outages, broken solar street lights, and road construction.
Many CCTV cameras have been installed at different locations in the Aswa River Region, mainly within major towns and Gulu City, to monitor the security situation and help respond to and intercept crime incidences.
Courts can also ask for video footage from the cameras and use it as evidence against criminal suspects who were caught in the area.
Some of the places that keep an eye on things are Gulu University, the Gulu Central Police Station, Pabbo, Attiak, Elegu, and Nimule.
CCTV cameras and command centers need constant lighting, a power source, and a way to connect to the internet so they can collect data and record footage.
But Steward Kalokwera, the Regional CCTV Cameras Operator for the Aswa River Region, said that this is being hampered by regular blackouts, broken solar street lights, and lack of internet access because of road construction, even though these things are necessary for their work.
The internet connections are connected to the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U) backbone, which is underground.
Kalokwera said that many times CCTV cameras haven’t been able to record incidents, especially in the evenings and at night, because it’s dark where they are. He said that the solar street lights would have been very helpful at these times because they would have given off light.
He added that the challenge has been exacerbated by the persistent power outages that have often left the town and municipalities in total darkness, rendering the cameras—most of which have no infra-red capability—useless at some points.
Kalokwera says that sometimes the command centers go completely dark. Since their backup power supplies only last an hour, they stop collecting data when the power goes out.
However, the CCTV camera command centers and their points of installation also require constant internet connectivity to link them. However, Kalokwera says that some of the lines were damaged by the ongoing roadworks.
This means that the command centers at that time failed to capture footage from the different cameras.
Aswa River Region says that CCTV cameras are the most important way to keep an eye on security, record incidents, and connect patrol teams so that crimes can be stopped.
Lamex Odong, who is the Deputy Speaker of Gulu City, questioned the effectiveness of the CCTV cameras last month. He did this because different road installations in the city are being broken and stolen, and people are being attacked, but the criminals are not being caught on camera.
Damalie Nachuha, who is in charge of the police in the Aswa River Region, said that a stolen car from Kenya was found in the Nwoya district of Northern Uganda after an alert was sent out.
Last year, a person suspected of practicing witchcraft was caught doing strange rituals at Gulu City’s Kaunda Grounds. This person was caught because of the CCTV cameras.
