By Prince Moore
There is a call for facial recognition closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to be installed in Portmore, St. Catherine to support surveillance in the business community.
The call was made during a meeting Thursday involving the police and business operators.
The meeting followed recent attacks on businesses by robbers in Portmore.
Senior Superintendent Christopher Phillips, Commanding Officer for the St. Catherine South Division, said tips were provided to the business community on how to increase security at their establishments to prevent them from being targeted by criminals.
"We have encouraged them to look on their camera system, the surveillance. They have to pay attention to the persons that they are employing to be security guards and persons who they have monitoring their surveillance system, if they do have any. There are some businesses that set their own policy in terms of persons entering. Don't allow perons to be coming in in hoody and dark glasses and masks. Make it a policy that once [they] are entering your building [they] have to take those off, if you have camera system," he proposed.
The latest attack on an establishment in Portmore occurred Sunday when security guards attached to Berrylium were wounded during an armed robbery at a Scotiabank automated teller machine (ATM) in Braeton Park.
Mayor of Portmore Leon Thomas has committed $500,000 for the procurement of CCTV cameras to be installed at specific locations in the municipality, which he said has seven entrance and exit points.
"I hope that the business community will come on board, through the Chamber of Commerce, to also put up some money that we can also set up surveillance camera to monitor the entry and exit points within this municipality," he urged.
