Many crimes have come to light, culprits have been arrested, and justice has been served, all thanks to CCTV cameras. People install these surveillance cameras in their homes, workplaces, and other public areas to serve as passive observers of events. However, CCTV is not enough to provide safety. In today’s world, especially in urban Ghana, real security requires more than just watching; it requires action and real-time intelligence. Surveillance cameras alone aren’t enough, and here is why:
No real-time intervention
CCTV does not provide intervention at any time when the event is happening. It can’t blow alarms to notify law enforcement or homeowners in any way. It can only observe. By the time a crime or danger is discovered, the harm has already been done. Unless there a live monitoring or there is a smart integration of alarms, CCTV cameras will remain passive observers with no other usefulness.
A recent footage incident at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology revealed how a final year student murdered his girlfriend and left her lifeless in a public area. Similar situations have occurred where the CCTV cameras could only watch and nothing more.
Susceptibility to damage
Again, surveillance cameras can be easily destroyed by perpetrators. Criminals have become smarter because they’re aware most public areas now have CCTV cameras, so they come wearing masks, and when they don’t, they break the camera and destroy the footage. They can even manage to avoid the camera completely.
False sense of security
While CCTV cameras serve as a deterrent to criminals and provide evidence, they don’t prevent crimes in real time. Many people rely heavily on CCTV, such that they ignore critical security measures like proper lighting or security guards. There are several public areas in Ghana, like many other places, where street lights have been installed, yet there are no street lights available. Worst, some of these surveillance cameras do not even work properly. A well-lit environment improves safety because it increases visibility, while security guards ward off criminals with their mere presence.
The need for smart CCTV cameras
Surveillance cameras should be part of a layered system and not the entire system where everything begins and ends on it. It should be a well-designed security strategy that comes with advanced technologies like motion alerts, cloud back-ups, and emergency control protocols. A smart security system could automatically lock doors or trigger lights when suspicious movement is detected in any environment. Decentralized monitoring centers can also be employed. In effect, not only the camera is being relied on for future reference or surveillance oversight, but multiple monitoring hubs. This will ensure faster response times, especially in public areas.
