Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, is in Mexico City to get a first-hand look at its safe city programme. The intention is to have a similar programme implemented here, GINA said today.
The Crime Chief along with an official from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure were invited by Mexican officials to observe the operations of the programme.
Mexico City launched the “Ciudad Segura” (Safe City) programme in 2009. The large scale project aims to increase crisis preparedness, cut crime rates and enhance multi-agency coordination and efficiency.
Using surveillance camera and a unified command and control centre, the programme has led to a 48.9 per cent reduction in crime over a three- year period. Vehicle theft was also significantly reduced. This is according to Thales, the security provider which is a partner of the Ciudad Segura programme.
Locally, the Ministry of Public Security has relied heavily on surveillance cameras to help in the fight against crime and traffic violations. Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, announced that the government is seeking to source an additional 300 closed circuit television cameras to aid in crime fighting, GINA noted.
