In the past seven months, authorities have booked more than 4,200 people, mostly for traffic rule violations and those involved in criminal activities in Kathmandu Valley, with the help of CCTV survillance, according to police data.

Statistics from Kathmandu Valley Police Office Ranipokhari show traffic police have issued tickets to 3,743 riders and drivers for violating traffic rules, based on their monitoring from traffic police CCTV control room. Meanwhile, 516 people involved in criminal activities were nabbed with surveillance kits installed at various locations of the Valley.

“Compared to traffic rules violations, resolving other crime issues with the help of CCTV footage is lower,” said Superintendent of Police Sanuram Bhattarai at the Kathmandu Valley Police Office, Ranipokhari. “It could be because most of the CCTV cameras are fitted on the roadsides and that easily capture the accidents and rule violations on the spot.”

More than 3,000 CCTV cameras keep feeding live activities from different parts of the Valley, to be monitored by the police at Rani Pokhari. Police in Kathmandu district alone have installed over 1,000 CCTV cameras.

The traffic police control room has three full-time personnel to keep records of traffic rules violations through CCTV surveillance, such as traffic light jump, violations of lane crossings, opening doors, accidents and flouting of the one-way rule.

Those assigned in the control room point out the registration number of the vehicles, their location, time of violation and the type. They then contact the Transport Office to access the rule violators’ data.

Rajendra Prasad Bhatta, a police official, said traffic police then call the violators and charge them a fine.

Bhattarai from the Ranipokhari Police Office said a number of people were booked for their involvement in crimes such as theft and the camera surveillance has helped them recover the stolen goods.

“There may be more than 10,000 CCTV cameras installed by banks, wards and private firms. This has helped in decreasing the number of crimes,” said Bhattarai.

Police data show that in the past seven months police retrieved 121 stolen goods and solved 31 cases of theft, three cases of robbery, and retrieved eight stolen vehicles. They were also able to trace five disappeared people with the help of CCTV cameras installed at different places. With the help of CCTV, police have sorted 86 cases, including those of vandalism.

On February 20, police had arrested five dozen people involved in vandalism and looting at the New Bus Park-based Lotse Mall and for torching two police vans on February 13. Police said most of them were caught with the help of CCTV footage collected from the crime scene.

“Hundreds of CCTV cameras installed by individuals or institutions have helped the police in keeping track of the crime scene,” said Bhattarai.