Cities across the world are constantly changing and evolving faster than at any point in their history. They have become more congested, and criminal activities have soared leading to the destruction of public assets. Compounding the problems, terrorism has become a major concern that presents communities and neighbourhoods with new security problems. Faced with a wealth of challenges, which are often elusive, cities are expected to manage and control the change to allow their communities to have a standard of living that meets modern day expectations. The terror attacks around the world reveal that most attacks are highly precise and well-coordinated, and targeted at high footfall areas to create a psychological impact along with monetary losses. Most of the citizens today are well aware of the risks and are in a state of constant anxiety about their safety and security. Hence, public safety has emerged as an important function for governments across the world. Accordingly, the federal and state government departments responsible for internal affairs and homeland security continuously assess and monitor the internal security situation, issue appropriate advisories, share intelligence inputs, extend manpower support, and offer guidance and expertise to the state governments for the maintenance of security. This also helps in establishing infrastructure for safe cities by capitalising on features from the following distinct categories of surveillance systems: Citywide police surveillance using Internet protocol (IP) based cameras, and Citywide community surveillance including private and institutional surveillance for collaborative monitoring. While the first system is becoming a standard solution for implementation to achieve the safe city vision, the latter is also gaining momentum to involve citizens and private and public institutions in collaborative monitoring. The following sections elaborate on the concept of collaborative monitoring. “Today, cities face a wide range of threats, ranging from terrorism and civil unrest to kidnapping and murder. To reduce the impact of these threats, it is critical for the authorities to capture real-time information on what is happening in and around the city. Therefore, there is a growing requirement for utilising the new and emerging technologies to make our cities safer. Given this background, one of the most user-friendly technologies that can play a crucial role is the extensive use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, which play a vital part in ensuring day-to-day surveillance, crime prevention and monitoring of illegal or suspicious activities. In addition to close supervision, CCTV cameras allow post-incident analysis and collection of indisputable legal evidence. While the government and legal authorities are also encouraging both public entities/ groups and individuals to adopt such progressive technologies, mapping each and every nook and corner of a city without seeking the help of its people is impossible. This formed the basis of a unique community policing initiative called ‘collaborative monitoring.’ As the very phrase suggests, collaborative monitoring is a unique tool, wherein the security and law enforcement agency takes advantage of the extensive network of surveillance cameras deployed by communities across the city as well as the cameras of other private and government establishments on a need basis. It is an extremely prudent enabler for the police department, as while they strengthen their bond with the communities, they can use any information or footage gathered from these security cameras to support investigation and the prosecution of criminals. The advantage provided by leveraging the extensive network of external cameras ensures enhanced crime monitoring through a cost-effective, widespread and scalabe model” – Neel Ratan India Government Leader and Regional Managing Partner, North PwC India What is collaborative monitoring? A key enabler for a safe city is the aspect of collaborative monitoring. In cities, where every government and private establishment has realised the necessity to secure its infrastructure and establish surveillance, monitoring and incident response systems, it is important that the data gathered by these agencies is shared among them. In such cities, CCTV-based surveillance systems are being deployed by federal as well as state government agencies at places like bus stands, metros, railway stations, airports, and other critical infrastructure spots and public places. These collaborative monitoring systems can conveniently share their data in real time with security agencies of the city. Similarly, live feeds from CCTV systems deployed by private establishments such as malls, hospitals, business parks and entertainment houses can be provided to the security and law enforcement agencies, which can make effective use of the information. Leveraging the extensive network of external cameras ensures additional eyes are monitoring crime. In addition, the higher penetration of cameras helps in lowering costs. Why collaborative monitoring? In her famous work ‘Participation and Democratic Theory,’ Carole Pateman, the renowned political theorist, advocated a greater role for common people in democratic selfrule and argued that development projects are more effective when beneficiaries have a role in the way projects are chosen, planned, implemented and evaluated. Giving citizens a role in initiatives designed for their benefit is considered to be an ideal way to ensure the sustainability and success of any project. Many cities across the world have surveillance systems deployed by multiple public and private establishments. These cities are using the collaborative framework to receive video feeds from these systems to ensure real-time responses and as an invaluable source of crime detection and evidence for the law enforcement departments. For an instance, the British Security Industry Authority (BSIA) estimated that there are up to 4.9 million CCTV cameras in the UK including 7,50,000 in ‘sensitive locations’ such as schools, hospitals and care homes. This translates to one camera for every 14 people in the UK. The collaborative framework shall help to meet the following objectives: Safety and security. Improved responsiveness. Effective policing Improved management Ensuring safety and security in fragile settings remains the key objective of law enforcement agencies, in addition to crisis management during serious incidents. The strategic objectives include the following in the given table: PwC’s framework for collaborative monitoring The entire ecosystem of cameras available to law enforcement agencies becomes significant when in addition to the law enforcement cameras, these agencies also…
