Police officers and private security officials are lobbying for the rollout of the Eagle Eye Project in Barataria, saying the CCTV initiative has already proven effective in Tunapuna and could bolster efforts to stem crime in the area.
The project, discussed at a Police Town Hall meeting at the Barataria Community Centre on Thursday, provides real-time video feeds to police command centres. Officers credited the system with improving response times and helping investigators bypass hesitant eyewitnesses by giving direct access to footage.
The programme is a collaboration between the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and private security firm Ultimate Solutions. It was introduced in Tunapuna last year in response to a surge in violent crime and extortion.
Director of Ultimate Solutions Adrian Amin said footage from a recent house firebombing in Arouca demonstrated how quickly police could identify vehicles and licence plates involved in serious crimes.
He acknowledged concerns about privacy but said cameras aimed at personal properties could be blurred if residents requested it.
“If we set up a camera that’s aimed down your street and it’s angled in front of your property and you don’t really want police seeing that, then the footage can be blurred and the police won’t have access to that,” he said. “But anything that is recordable will be recorded clear.”
The project is community-funded, with subscription fees ranging from $99 to $199 per month. Cameras and alarms are installed by Ultimate Solutions, while police operate the viewing centres at police stations.
One Barataria resident said:
“This is new to me but I think it’s strange that a private company can come into my neighbourhood and provide a service like this.
It’s almost as if they are competing with the government because I’m sure the government has the same service they try to provide.”
But Crime Stoppers Trinidad and Tobago director Darrin Carmichael said the government’s cameras, managed by the Ministry of Homeland Security, were mostly on highways and main roads, while Eagle Eye was meant for residential and commercial districts. He urged residents to consider the broader benefit of round-the-clock security coverage.
ASP Beepath, who was involved in the project’s launch in Tunapuna, also defended the initiative. He said it had already helped solve crimes and believed the camera presence could act as a deterrent.