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Shanghai police employ 4,000 CCTV watchers

By Jia Xu (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-05-24 16:43

The Shanghai-based Dongfang Daily reported Monday that the municipal police department has deployed 4,000 people as a part of a new 24-hour video surveillance team in the city's latest effort to clampdown on crime.

The team of 4,000, comprising of 600 police officers, will monitor a network of closed-circuit television (CCTV) across Shanghai to spot crime, monitor incidents and provide remote guidance to officers on the ground.

The scheme, launched by the Shanghai Police Bureau, will cover the main city areas, remote suburbs, including streets, and residential communities, following the success of video surveillance in last year.

The police say more than 6,000 criminals were tracked down with the help of video surveillance in 2010. Another 2,400 suspects were detained in first quarter of 2011 in the same way.

All 4,000 members of the team will be required to obtain a qualification certificate in video surveillance supervision before performing their duties.

In addition to the monitoring force, the Shanghai Police Bureau will also deploy more officers on the streets in a bid to respond promptly once a crime has been spotted.