The city government here is set to acquire 430 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to boost the campaign against criminality.

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday the acquisition and installation of the video surveillance equipment will cover all “critical areas”.

“We would like to have a CCTV that will one hundred percent cover the critical areas in the city. It would be a waste if we cannot really capture and monitor all the public places,” he added.

Benitez said the city currently has only 85 CCTV units.

“I’m not sure of the number that’s functioning. I heard it’s much less than the 85. We are proposing about 430 CCTVs to be installed in the entire Bacolod so we can have a faster response time for crimes and calamities,” he said.

Benitez noted there have been “many unsolved crimes”, which is something his administration wants to put more attention to.

The mayor said the acquisition of additional CCTVs is “in the works” as part of the local peace and order program.

“It will be within the year,” the mayor said, adding that a command center will be constructed to house the new video surveillance system.

Benitez acknowledged that the Philippine National Police can only do so much in maintaining peace and order and the “solution is to have all of these systems in place”.

“We’re finding a solution to be more advanced by using modern technology for peace and order,” he said. (PNA)