‘Hawk Eye’ surveillance van launched in Kanyakumari district

KANYAKUMARI: A 360 degree ‘Hawk Eye’ surveillance van was launch in Kanyakumari district as part of the district police unit’s efforts to increase surveillance. The vehicle with surveillance mechanism was sponsored by a private company under its corporate social responsibility funds.
Superintendent of police V Badrinarayanan said such surveillance vehicles are available in cities with police commissionerate.Kanyakumari is the first district police unit in the Tamil Nadu to get the 360 degree ‘Hawk Eye’ surveillance vehicle.
The vehicle has five cameras fixed on a pole connected with a motor to take the camera to an elevated position.
“While four of the cameras in the dome are fixed, the fifth can be used for tilt and zoom and can be operated by a monitoring officer using the app to which it is connected. This will be efficient in monitoring instead of giving directions to the person manning the vehicle to turn the camera,” the SP said.
He added that 10 officers could monitor live feed from the cameras simultaneously. If needed, even the director general of police can monitor a situation virtually. The surveillance vehicle will be primarily used for maintenance of law and order, during protests and for political events during the elections.
The SP said officers could save time and step into action by assessing the situation based on the live video feed instead of reaching the spot and deciding on the further course of action. It will also be used to screen awareness videos at public places.
As a crime prevention measure, automatic number plate reading cameras will be installed at strategic places on eight roads connecting Nagercoil town. The district police are also in the process of procuring more than 10 movable cameras that can be installed at remote places and monitored from the headquarters.
The movable cameras with self-recording feature could be used for surveillance in less than half an hour, he added.