Trinidad and Tobago government is finally moving to install surveillance cameras in downtown Port of Spain.
The move comes after repeated calls by the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) for such equipment to be installed along major streets in the city.
Former National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee had visited London to view such a system there.
Speaking at the post-Cabinet press conference at Whitehall yesterday, National Security Minister Martin Joseph said the Government had made sufficient progress with the plan to institute the surveillance cameras and promised that they would be set up by the end of the year.
Initially Joseph said he was mandated by the Cabinet to bring a proposal for setting up surveillance cameras for downtown Port of Spain after giving an update on the condition of three people who were still hospitalised after the July 11 bombing in Port of Spain.
But minutes later, Joseph said it was not linked to the bombing incident. "I don't think that moving forward with the surveillance cameras is a reaction to what happened in Port of Spain. This was something in the cards for some time," he said.
Joseph said that several challenges were related to the surveillance system but the country has reached a stage where steps have to be taken so that the camera system is installed in the shortest time possible.
Joseph also said that the airship cost $25 million and will play a critical role in assisting the law enforcement agencies in the fight against kidnapping, terrorism and the illicit gun and drug trade.
He said the aerial surveillance system, acquired from the a US manufacturer, will offer a fully integrated range of audio, video and radar surveillance applications from a single platform.
The system will assist the law enforcement agencies in:
- identifying the locations of concealed items such as illicit narcotics, firearms and ammunition
- real-time tracking of vehicles or persons which will be critical and valuable in kidnapping cases
- video surveillance and gathering of real-time intelligence
- video surveillance and coordination of responses to terrorists events
- video surveillance of valuable coastal areas, swamp lands and sensitive targets .
Joseph said the airship arrived at Cumuto base two months ago and testing began last Saturday. He described as "not correct" reports that certain senior police officers were not informed of the tests.
He noted that similar equipment was being used by allied forces in Iraq, Homeland Security officers responsible for border control and by several cities in the United States.
According to Martin, crime was being fuelled in this country by "guns, drugs and gangs".
"This is an effort to stop the entry of the guns and the drugs, while we try to get those that are already here off the streets and reduce the inflow of drugs into our country, " Joseph added.
He said the initiative was in no way an invasion of citizens' privacy, adding that law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear from this airship. "It's designed to deal with that small group who continue to terrorise us," he added.
The purchase of the airship was done by sole selective tender and it was transparent, Martin said.
