public safety

Police to buy more cameras

With the announcement by police that it will purchase 215 new security cameras, some have questioned the effectiveness of the video surveillance program.

Despite the fact that there are 264 existing cameras installed at various points around the greater Panama City area, the crime rate has continued to rise. In the first half of this year there were 18,323 crimes committed, which represents a 10.5 percent increase over the same period last year.

Police spokesman Eduardo Lim Yueng said that it is difficult, however, to estimate the effectiveness of the program based solely on raw figures. He pointed to the fact that an arrest was made in the case of an attorney who was murdered on Vía Argentina was due mostly to the fact that the crime was caught on tape.

He also said the numerous crimes have been thwarted because police were able to respond quickly to potential situations when alerted by video feeds.

The cameras have been installed in El Chorrillo (9), Santa Ana (6), San Felipe (10), Bella Vista (56), Calidonia (32), Bethania (53), San Francisco (45), Pueblo Nuevo (21) and Parque Lefevre (32).

The next stage of the program will involve placing cameras in communities were others already exist, as well as in the areas of Juan Díaz, Tocumen, Mañanitas, and at the entrances to the corredores Norte and Sur. Police will expand the program to include Colón and David in 2010.

The purchase and installation of the 215 new cameras is expected to cost $8.2 million, money that police say is well spent, even if crime statistics don't support that argument.