Swakopmund’s CCTV plans die a quiet death

Sharlien Tjambari

The dream of installing CCTV surveillance cameras in Swakopmund is shattered. It came to light this week that the Police Public Relations Committee (PPRC) withdrew their joint support for this project, citing a lack of interest by the Swakopmund local authority and the public for the project as the sole reason.

In response to rising crime statistics in Swakopmund, the PPRC last year embarked upon a program to inform and educate the public on a proposal to have CCTV cameras installed, as a measure to detect potential criminal activity and to provide the police with recordings to assist with criminal investigations. To date, all efforts proved unfruitful.

During an information sharing meeting with the community on Council’s capital projects and activities, the Chief Executive Officer of Swakopmund Municipality, Marko Swarts said a survey was conducted in 2017 to determine if residents are willing to pay a fee of N$10 per month to fund and maintain a CCTV system. Interest was minimal.

Anett Kötting, the Chairperson of PPRC, confirmed the withdrawal of support. and said the only reason they decided to withdraw this initiative is because they did not get support from the Swakopmund Municipality and the community. “Many people felt the CCTV Cameras are not worth paying N$10 for. We cannot force people to support a project they don’t want” added Kötting.

She said it is now up to the neighbourhood watches to see how best to protect their territories and possibly find sponsorship should they want to install CCTV cameras. “It would be good if neighbourhood watches work hand-in-hand with the security services, in order to ensure safety in their neighbourhoods”.

Kötting urged the various law enforcement agencies to increase their visibility on the streets of Swakopmund, as there is a positive relationship between the visibility of law enforcers and a reduction in criminal activities.