Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 30, 2018 (SKNIS): The Command Centre, situated at the Police Headquarters in Basseterre, was officially handed over to the Ministry of National Security on June 29, marking the completion of phase one of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) project.
In a short ceremony, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Osmond Petty, stated that this first phase included the installation of over 300 CCTV cameras, 12 network video recorders, twelve 49” televisions, about six servers and furniture for the command centre.
“Phase one has been completed… and phase one involved putting CCTV cameras in Basseterre and its environs which included Shadwell, Conaree, Frigate Bay, and as far west as Buckley’s and the Lime Kiln area. The project was administered by VIVOTEK, a reputable CCTV firm from Taiwan, or with headquarters in Taiwan and, today VIVOTEK will officially hand over the command centre to the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and, more importantly, the police,” Mr. Petty said.
VIVOTEK was described as one of the top five CCTV equipment manufacturers in the world by Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to St. Kitts and Nevis, His Excellency George Gow Wei Chiou. He also said that the company was the provider of CCTV surveillance systems for Taipei City in Taiwan. Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, and Ambassador Chiou had previously signed a Sales Agreement for the supply of CCTV Equipment by VIVOTEK. The project is a part of the “Cities and Roadways Surveillance System CCTV Project” of which there are two additional phases yet to be implemented. It is being funded through a bilateral agreement for police cooperation which was signed in 2016 by both countries. Ambassador Chiou explained that VIVOTEK was recommended by the Taiwan National Police Agency to be the contractor for the St. Kitts and Nevis nation-wide CCTV surveillance system.
“After one year of hard work of installation and testing by VIVOTEK Corporation and its partner Secure Guard Ltd. Corporation, of this high-tech surveillance system…300 cameras have been successfully installed…” the Ambassador disclosed.
Prime Minister Dr. Harris described the occasion as a “significant and historic achievement”, adding that that phase alone cost in excess of EC$5 million. However, he also said that the government had accepted that the crime situation in the country required innovation and that the introduction of CCTV cameras on both islands was one of the new interventions. He went on to thank the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of the people the Federation.
“Today we have come to celebrate the completion of phase one of this particular project and to signal our readiness to move, post-haste, with respect to phase two of the programme. We have [been] advised that the CCTV…has been quite an added tool in the fight against crime and has assisted the police in providing reliable evidence [with] which they could deal with the investigation and containment of criminal activity…Taiwan is one of the most successful in the development and application of technology. And as a successful country internationally around the globe, in a variety of areas of human endeavour, particularly those in relation to science and technology, Taiwan, as a reliable partner in our development process, has willingly come to our support and has undertaken to support us with this critical matter of national safety and security,” said Prime Minister Harris.
