How ‘Big Brother’ CCTV could stem rising crime wave in the city

By Joe Kiarie

KENYA: Is Kenya ready to adopt closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the fight against crime? Or are plans to bring Big Brother tactics to town an expensive waste of time?

These are the questions begging for answers as the Government plans a multi-billion shilling project to help curb surging crime waves in Nairobi and across the country. Given the high cost involved, questions are being raised about the real value of CCTV footage to police investigations.

While tens of daring daylight robberies have been captured on camera in recent years, there has been little proof many of the criminals filmed were arrested on the strength of CCTV images.

There are also few known instances in which CCTV footage was pivotal in securing a criminal conviction in court. Indeed, the failure of such systems has led to more than a few mysteries in at least half a dozen murder cases in the last decade.

CCTV footage has proven useful in some instances. In October last year, the public was treated to a chilling video clip of three young men shooting dead an MPesa agent at a chemist in Nairobi’s Ngara area. It only took police about 48 hours to positively identify, arrest and charge two of the suspects, Jamal Maina Macharia and Tom Mbugua, with robbery with violence.

Value of CCTV cameras

While the incident underlined the value CCTV cameras have in solving crime, there remains fear that the police have been unable to zero in on many culprits despite millions of shillings invested in systems that help identify suspects.

 In well-documented episodes, armed thugs have been targeting MPesa agents, chemists, jewelry shops, supermarkets and other business enterprises and walking away with millions of shillings under the glare of spy cameras. Most affected entrepreneurs say recorded footage identifies the culprits as members of the same gangs that have been terrorising them for months.

However, the cases often remain open, wither “pending arrest of known accused” or awaiting positive identification of individuals identified only by physical features.

 In Nairobi, daring raids have been captured in Nairobi’s suburbs such as Westlands, Ngara, Kileleshwa, Kilimani and Eastlands, meaning the criminal gangs could have strategically shifted their hunting grounds away from the Central Business District. The robberies are seemingly well orchestrated, timed and executed to perfection, with neither guns fired nor alarms raised as the criminals dash away with cash and valuable property in a flash.

In July last year, a gang of 15 robbers stormed the Nairobi Lighthouse Church in Nairobi’s Industrial Area and carried out one of the boldest daylight robberies to hit Nairobi in recent years. The thugs ordered worshippers, both outside and within the church, to lie down and proceeded to rob them of personal belongings amid kicks and slaps. The gang leader called off the mission minutes later and they walked away carrying paper bags stashed with their loot. While CCTV cameras installed around the church captured the whole episode, only a few of the seemingly petty criminals, who are known to the locals, have been arrested so far. Police claim the gang leader was shot dead months later while committing another robbery in Nairobi’s Lang’ata suburb.

Also at large are thugs who shot dead an Ebrahim’s supermarket cashier along Kimathi lane in Nairobi in October 2010.

 In a case of daylight robbery captured in detail by CCTV cameras, the thugs had waylaid Joseph Karanja at the lane, chased him down and shot him in the head before escaping with the cash. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Agha Khan Hospital. Three members of a seven-man gang that specialized in raiding jewelry shops within the CBD around the same time were also arrested and jailed but their accomplices, whose faces were captured in several CCTV footages, remain at large.

Nairobi Central Business District Association (NCBDA) chairman Timothy Muriuki admits there are widespread concerns within the business community over failure by the police to track down criminals caught on camera. He primarily attributes this to installation of substandard or wrong camera types, making it hard for them to candidly capture the culprit’s facial features.

  Wrong camera

“Using the wrong camera or a low quality one means the resolution of the video will be compromised and this does not make work easy for the police. That is why we always advise businessmen to install appropriate cameras with the right specifications,” he says.

Muriuki equally blames the situation on failure by the police to share information regarding the suspects. “The police have a poor way of networking and it is unfortunate that the mug shots of robbers caught on camera are never even posted on the police website,” he says

Mr Jimlet Kithu, a security solutions consultant and expert in CCTV cameras, says the spy cameras are very crucial and their role in curbing crime should not be underestimated. However, the quality of the images and the diligence of those using the cameras is key to ensuring they provide usable evidence.

“You will automaticity note a drop in the crime rate within Nairobi and other areas if a high-quality and well-maintained CCTV system was in place,” says Kithu. “It will only take a combination of human effort backed by technology to make Nairobi safe.”

The expert, who runs a CCTV cameras outlet and security consultancy firm by the name Omega Technology, says the cameras also serve as a deterrent.

  Arresting criminals

“It is not always easy to track down and arrest criminals who know you are looking for them,” he says. “But CCTV cameras significantly help scare away potential offenders, especially if the cameras are conspicuously fixed.

They have massive psychological impact in curbing crime when people know they are being recorded. The cameras are a necessity in any place today.”

Kithu notes that installation of sufficient and well-distributed cameras could make life easier for an understaffed and overworked police force.

“They ease surveillance since in addition to capturing and recording crime as well as traffic offences,” he states. “An individual can observe situations on multiple streets from one control room.”

A few years back, the Government installed CCTV cameras around the Kenya National Archives within Nairobi’s Central Business District as part of a pilot project on the use of CCTV cameras in fighting crime.

“The cameras really helped reduce crime around the area, especially outside the Ambassadeur Hotel as police could easily identify pickpockets and other robbers. The transmission hub was later vandalized, possibly by someone who colluded with the criminals, but the cameras are still intact,” notes a security operative privy to the project.

Kithu says it is advisable that one understands the existing security threats before using CCTV cameras as part of the solution.

“The cameras can be critical in case of terrorist threats, natural disasters, accidents, threats to critical facilities such as petroleum depots and power sources as well as for personal safety,” he avers. “In almost every place I have instead a camera, there have been cases of crime and the culprit arrested.”