Crime solved by community camera

Vinh City: 20 theft and robbery cases clarified thanks to community security cameras

(Baonghean.vn) - After just over half a year of installation, community security cameras have helped Vinh City police clarify 20 criminal cases, arrest 9 people who stole property from people's homes, and recover many properties and return them to the victims.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Nam Quynh - Captain of the Movement Building and Civil Protection Management Team, Vinh City Police is one of the people who had the most concerns when bringing the camera system to apply in the area. Having gone through the peak period of ensuring security during Tet, Lieutenant Colonel Quynh shared: "Previously, the police force often had difficulty identifying the subjects who set off firecrackers because they ran away immediately afterwards, but thanks to the community camera system, during the recent Tet holiday, dozens of subjects who caused 10 firecracker incidents in the area were identified. Not to mention, it also helped the reconnaissance brothers and the grassroots security force quickly discover and investigate many cases."

The most special case mentioned by Lieutenant Colonel Quynh was the shooting with homemade guns in Hung Loc commune on the evening of December 14, 2017. Due to a previous conflict, two groups of young men rushed into a fight at the Hong Kong Hotel (in Hoa Tien hamlet, Hung Loc commune). After being stopped, the two groups stopped. However, they continued to meet and fight in front of the gate of Nghe An Pedagogical College. One of the subjects used a homemade gun to shoot continuously, seriously injuring two people. The group that caused the above consequences immediately escaped.

Hung Loc Commune Police (Vinh City) check camera eyes in the area. Photo: Phuong Thao

Upon receiving the report, the police force quickly arrived to investigate but encountered many difficulties in identifying the subject due to the darkness, the large number of young people and the chaos. Immediately, a team of investigators checked the image data on the community camera system placed in front of the gate of Nghe An Pedagogical College.

At this time, the camera came into play, the subject who directly used the homemade gun to seriously injure another person was identified as Luu Van Duc (born in 1991, residing in Duc Tho hamlet, Hung Loc commune). Deputy Chief of Hung Loc commune police Pham Van Cuong continued: "The incident happened late at night so the image was quite blurry. However, we worked until 4 am, connecting the image data collected from the camera eyes to identify the subject. The very next morning, not only the perpetrator but also 3 other criminals were quickly arrested."

Another incident occurred in Truong Thi Ward, at around 5:00 p.m. on December 12, 2017, the Ward Police received a report from Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Huong (residing in Trung Dinh block, Hung Dung ward) that she suspected that a subject impersonating a traffic police officer had stopped her at An Duong Vuong Street, the intersection with Truong Thi Street. This subject asked Ms. Huong to pay a fine of 100,000 VND for running a red light, while Ms. Huong affirmed that she had not broken the law.

Based on Huong's statement about the time and location of the incident, Truong Thi Ward Police immediately checked the data on the community camera system, images captured from the camera installed on An Duong Vuong Street. Thanks to that, they quickly identified the subject as Tran Quoc Khanh (born in 1963, residing in block 11, Trung Do Ward) and verified that Ms. Huong's report was correct, this subject was not a traffic police officer. Major Le Van Son - Head of Truong Thi Ward Police said: "When invited to the police headquarters to work, this subject initially did not admit to the act, however, the camera data images are clear and undeniable evidence."

Hung Loc Commune Police (Vinh City) monitors security and order in the area through the server system. Photo: Phuong Thao

The effectiveness of socialization

Community cameras were put into pilot use in Trung Do ward in early April 2017; to date, they have been replicated in 22/25 wards and communes in Vinh city. Many wards and communes have a large number of camera eyes such as Ha Huy Tap (180 eyes), Trung Do (117 eyes), Quan Bau (98 eyes), Truong Thi (95 eyes)...; The remaining 3 communes, Hung Chinh, Nghi Duc and Nghi Phu, are currently installing cameras, and the model is expected to launch in March 2018.

When talking about the advantages and disadvantages of implementing this model, Lieutenant Colonel Quynh always emphasizes the most fundamental factor, which is the consensus of the people. “The name community camera itself shows the close connection of the people to this model. Because of the obvious practical effectiveness, the majority of people respond enthusiastically. First of all, the funding, then the protection work, the role of the people is very important. The most exciting thing is that wherever it is deployed, the people support it,” said Lieutenant Colonel Quynh.

Up to now, the whole city has promoted and mobilized 4 billion 518 million VND from agencies, businesses, and households throughout the city to install community camera systems. In addition, a number of schools, blocks, agencies, units, and individuals have deployed the installation of cameras themselves, combined with the general system of wards and communes.

The camera server is located at the People's Committee headquarters or the ward or commune police station. All data information at the camera eyes will be transmitted here via the Internet, which is both convenient and reduces costs. On the other hand, the camera eyes are connected to each other, so when an incident occurs at a certain point, it will not affect the data system.

It is noteworthy that despite the dense camera system, since its installation, no camera has had any problems due to property damage in Vinh city. Mr. Nguyen Manh Ty (76 years old, Truong Thi ward) shared: “This past Tet was the first Tet in our area that installed cameras, making us feel much more secure and not worried about theft like before. When the camera is placed in front of the alley, 9 or 10 surrounding houses benefit, so households must protect it from being vandalized by bad guys. Moreover, the camera is also contributed by us, state property is also the property of the people, so we must be responsible.”

According to the assessment of Vinh City Police, the crime and social evils in the city in 2017 decreased by 16% compared to 2016, in which the community camera system played an important role. This is considered one of the outstanding achievements in the process of building a beautiful and civilized urban image, pushing back crime for Vinh City.

Less than 1 year since installing community cameras, through the data images of the camera system, Vinh City Police have arrested 30 cases, 35 subjects with acts of property theft; 3 cases, 3 subjects with acts of property robbery; 7 cases of intentional injury; 5 cases of environmental violations; 10 cases of illegal fireworks; 1 case of disturbing public order; 5 traffic accidents; 12 cases of handling violations of public order and traffic safety.