Santo Domingo has 826 of a programmed 1,305 surveillance cameras installed on city streets. In addition, thousands of businesses and apartment complexes have installed security cameras.
Diario Libre reports the security cameras have helped solve many crime cases, including the recent murder of a watchman during a robbery at the Banco Popular bank. With the help of security cameras, the Department of Criminal Investigations of the Police (Dicrim) had identified the motorcycle, vehicles and the assailants involved in the robbery just four hours after the crime was committed.
As reported, the 826 cameras installed by the government are mounted on electricity poles, public and private buildings, shopping centers, tunnels, overpasses and tollbooths. A staff of 500 persons manages the information that is linked to security and safety services of the government.
Once a crime occurs, any images or videos that may be of use in solving the crime are turned over to the Prosecutor General’s office.
The system covers the National District and the Province of Santo Domingo. The greatest concentration of cameras are located near the Presidential Palace and main thoroughfares, such as the 27 de Febrero, John F. Kennedy, San Vicente de Paul, Isabel Aguiar, Charles de Gaulle, Jacobo Majluta, Independencia, Maximo Gomez, Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln.
The surveillance system is integrated into the National System for Emergencies (911).