Jamaica deploying public CCTV surveillance program with facial recognition
A public-private partnership to create a national CCTV surveillance program in Jamaica for public safety and security purposes is receiving strong support from the country’s private sector, the Jamaica Observer reports.
The “JamaicaEye” program will connect Ministry of National Security cameras and privately-owned cameras to a network to be monitored by security professionals. Video analytics will provide facial recognition, license plate identification, geofencing and crowd counting, among other features.
Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) President Howard Mitchell told the Observer his group will endorse the initiative as a crime-reduction measure, and also as an example of participatory democracy.
JamaicaEye Project Manager Major Sheldon Bryan told the Observer that roughly 180 cameras have been deployed across several parishes so far. “We need a lot more cameras to be a part of the system to increase our situational awareness as to what is happening across the space,” he said. “So, we are inviting now persons, who have digital camera systems (to partner with us).”
Lieutenant Commander George Overton, Group Director of Communication and Quality Control for Guardsman Group and also President of the Jamaican Society for Industrial Security echoed the call for public participation.
Private citizens and businesses can register their camera feeds with the system at jamaicaeye.gov.jm[jamaicaeye.gov.jm].
Jamaica is also launching a biometric National Identification System (NIDS) in 2019, in part to reduce identity theft.
The global city surveillance market is growing rapidly, with HIS Markit predicting 14.6 percent growth through 2021.
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