Countrywide installations of 40,000 security cameras with a system enabling authorities to watch footage in real time are being prepared as the government seeks to solve the problem of a lack of surveillance capability in many areas.
The move follows the inspection of 300,000 closed-circuit televisions (CCTV), owned by government and non-government agencies, across the country in March. The inspections found a significant proportion of the cameras were not working, while there were an insufficient number of cameras in many public areas, defence spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich said yesterday after a meeting of the "CCTV installation committee", chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
The meeting did not discuss the budget needed for the purchase, Maj Gen Kongcheep said.
Under the plan, security cameras will be connected to national and provincial centres in order to allow police officers and state officials to monitor what the cameras record in real time.
Companies or people who own cameras installed in public places will be also encouraged to join the plan, Maj Gen Kongcheep said.
The bomb that went off at Phramongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok injuring 25 people on May 22 spurred official interest in the state of security cameras.
It was thanks to having security cameras installed at the hospital that led to the alleged bomber being tracked down and arrested.