CCTV cameras have been placed in highly crowded areas such as airports, ferry ports, bus terminals, and railway stations as a deterrent and precautionary measure against crime and even terrorism
when millions of Indonesians return to their hometowns this year to celebrate Lebaran with their families and friends.
Around 43 CCTV cameras which have been installed at Bakauheni ferry port in Lampung function optimally to monitor all activities at the port.
"All CCTV cameras function well and can be used to monitor all activities around Bakauheni port for 24 hours," Lampung Selatan Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Bahagia Dachi said here on Thursday.
He said any criminal act or accident could be monitored immediately by officers at a command post and then to coordinate it with other police officials at every corner of the port.
According to Dachi, the CCTV cameras were placed at the port entry gate, piers I to -III, terminal, passengers waiting room, embarkation ramps , electronic ticket lines, and alley ways.
"If there is an accident or a criminal act, security officers can immediately identify the perpetrators," Dachi said, adding that the cameras had become operational for 24 hours since Wednesday, August 24, 2011.
He explained that the cameras were placed at the strategic places around Bakauheni port to tightly monitor and protect the increasing holiday travelers who began pouring into the port early this week.
According to Dachi, the cameras will also record without exception any suspicious activity of passengers and vehicles that were to enter a ferry ship.
He said such high-tech cameras were able to display images clearly at night, no mater the lighting system was not perfectly good.
"For double protection to the holiday travelers, we also have special officials who will thoroughly examine the passengers and their luggage when they head into the ship," Dachi said.
Therefore he expressed hope that the prospective passengers would not worry when they were at Bakauheni port, security officers also spread around all crowd points.
Besides Bakauheni, eight entry points to Merak ferry port including the docks have CCTV cameras.
"We have installed CCTV cameras at all eight entry points to Merak port and the docks," PT. ASDP Indonesia Ferry spokesman Prasetyo B Utomo said early this week.
Prasetyo explained that PT. ASDP Indonesia Ferry has been using CCTV cameras for two years and all 24 cameras, installed at the port, were able to monitor all activities of the holiday travelers.
Meanwhile, head of Banten province department of transportation communication and information Husni Hasan said in Serang on Friday that the security cameras were also placed at strategic and congestion-prone areas.
Husni said the areas which have had CCTV cameras were among others Cikupa Tangerang toll road, Pakupatan bus terminal in Serang, Poris Plawad bus terminal in Tangerang city, Pandeglang Labuan terminal, and Merak integrated terminal.
"The CCTV camera will enable us to monitor the flow of Lebaran home-bound travelers and traffic congestion along main and alternative roads across Banten province," Husni said.
Police in Cimahi, West Java have also installed around 16 security cameras at a number of sensitive areas between Bandung Barat district and Cimahi city.
Cimahi Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Rudy Heryanto Adi Nugroho said early this week that they also used CCTV cameras to monitor the areas which are prone to traffic jams and criminal acts.
"We place the CCTV cameras in a number of areas such as Baros toll road exit gate, Cianjuang street, Cimahi Raya street, Tagog Padalarang market junction, and Cipatat," Rudy said.
Meawnhile, Bali Traffic Police Directorate also makes use of Regional Traffic Management Center (RTMC) to monitor the flow of Lebaran holiday travelers through 86 CCTV cameras.
Bali Police spokesman Senior Commissioner Syauqie Achmad said in Denpasar on Thursday that, besides setting up security posts at sensitive areas, they also use around 86 CCTV cameras to monitor the activity of Lebaran holiday exodus the resort island.
"We place the CCTV cameras in the highly crowded areas of Gilimanuk and Padangbai ferry ports, Ngurah Rai airport, and Ubung bas terminal in Denpasar," Syauqie Achmad said.
CCTV takes numerous forms and performs a wide range of functions ranging from image enhancement for the partially sighted to the transmission of pay-per-view broadcast.
Such security cameras are now universally featured in many public and private institutions from a correctional facility to the convenience store.
In many areas of the country as well as in Europe, Security Cameras have been placed in highly crowded public areas as a security measure against terrorism.
CCTV is a video system designed to only be viewed by particular users; the picture is not broadcast, but recorded or viewed on a specific monitor.
(T.O001/HAJM)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
