Nur Jazlan moots CCTV surveillance plan

JOHOR BARU: The authorities want to expand the use of CCTVs placed in public areas to include facial recognition software to boost security, says Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

He added that the CCTVs placed at train stations, bus and MRT stations will be linked to police stations.

“At the moment, our CCTVs only record video images and are connected to the control centre within a particular area.

“We want to hook them up to the police station’s control room, equipped with facial recognition facilities,” he said during a visit to several police stations here yesterday.

Nur Jazlan said the ministry is studying some CCTV equipment modules used in Britain, China and Australia.

“Britain has been using this technology for the past 10 years and the authorities there have managed to get 20 million images, which can be used for their reference,” he added.

He said the installation of facial recognition CCTVs would require a new Bill, which would be tabled in Parliament next year.

If passed, the Bill would allow the use of CCTV footage as evidence in court and also during police investigations, he added.

Nur Jazlan said the ministry hoped to equip all police stations nationwide with CCTVs to increase security.

Many stations are equipped with CCTVs, with the exception of temporary police beat stations, especially those in shophouses.

“We do not want a repeat of the Aug 31 incident in Subang Jaya, where policeman L/Kpl Valentino Mesa was shot dead at a temporary police station,” he said, adding that the ministry could not install High Definition (HD) CCTVs at present due to budget constraints.

On another matter, Nur Jazlan said the inhumane conditions at the Ayer Molek police station in Johor Baru are an isolated incident.

“Overall, the conditions at police lock-ups nationwide are satisfactory and improvements are being carried out constantly.

“I am personally monitoring this issue,” he said after visiting a lock-up at the Johor Baru North district police headquarters.

A statement issued by Suhakam chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail on Aug 18 called for the reform of police lock-ups after observing detainees in the Ayer Molek lock-up were held in conditions hazardous to their health and well-being.

He added that conditions at the lock-up were extremely poor, with decayed flooring and dilapidation in most cells, after Suhakam officials visited the lock-up on July 31.

We want to hook up CCTVs to the police station’s control room, equipped with facial recognition facilities. Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed