JOIN USMore homes in city now going in for CCTV cameras
The demand for CCTV cameras has shot up since the Kammanahalli molestation, trade insiders say.
On New Year’s Eve, a woman was molested by two men on a motorbike in Kammanahalli, an eastern Bengaluru neighbourhood. Police used footage from a surveillance camera to arrest them and their accomplices.
Since then, Krishna Mohan of Safe Net has seen his CCTV business rise by about 40%. His shop, selling security gadgets, is in Bapujinagar.
“Shops and businesses routinely buy CCTV cameras. But post-Kammanahalli, even homes are buying them. Some people stream the footage and monitor their homes using their mobiles,” he said.
In some cases, people just buy dummy cameras to serve as a deterrent. “Cameras are better than ever before, and are now available with higher resolution. Even night vision is clear. A basic installation costs between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000,” Mohan told DH.
Safety for kids
Vaseem Pasha of Spy Citi estimates the rise in sales of CCTV cameras at about 20%. “People now depend on surveillance systems to keep an eye on their homes. Most couples work, and want to make sure their children and elders are safe at home,” he said. A basic set-up comprises four cameras and a recorder, with prices beginning at Rs 15,000 and going up to Rs 40,000. With a store near Town Hall in Bengaluru, Pasha also sells online.
A company called Create Labs has launched a security system it is promoting as the first of its kind in India. “Traditional CCTV cameras come into play only after an incident to identify the criminal. This is a reactive approach towards surveillance. But our system alerts owners when a crime is about to take place. The owners can also talk and listen to the intruders conversation at the time of theft,” said CEO Murali Srinivasa.
The system, called Etapro, uses sensors, cameras and a base station. Priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 18,000, it is as affordable as any other, he said. A police officer said ‘video analytics’ is the future of crime detection. The term refers to the process of matching footage from a crime against a database of history-sheeters, he explained.