National Security Ministry Targeting Community Groups, Businesses As It Beefs Up JamaicaEye

The Ministry of National Security is targeting neighborhood watch groups, community associations and businesses across the island as it looks to beef up the number of surveillance cameras available under the JamaicaEye programme.

“In terms of the contribution by the public, we are putting a lot of effort into that at this time,” Senior Director of Major Technology Transformation in the Ministry, Arvel Grant, told JIS News.

“We are meeting with the community groups, various neighborhood watches and business associations across the island. We go in, we meet with the groups who would have registered their interest by logging on to the JamaicaEye website, we share camera specifications, we sensitise them, we give them information about how the system works and address any concerns,” he noted.

He said that persons are educated about the cameras that best suit the system.

“We tell them about the cameras to buy and those that work best in certain areas. Once they have the cameras acquired and installed, then our technical team will meet with the community group. We establish that connection back to our system, so that the members of the police force inside the monitoring centre are able to access those camera feeds,” he pointed out.

Mr. Grant is encouraging persons who want to link their cameras to the system to contact the Ministry.

“The starting point for any community group, or anyone who wants to join and contribute their feed is for you to go to the JamaicaEye website and that is jamaicaeye.gov.jm, you can also email us at jamaicaeye@mns.gov.jm or you can call in to the Ministry and ask to speak with someone about JamaicaEye. We will give you the necessary information, arrange the sensitisation session and take it from there,” he outlined.

Mr. Grant said that JamaicaEye does not connect to cameras that are inside personal homes and businesses.

Launched in March 2018, JamaicaEye is a national closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) surveillance system designed to increase the safety of all citizens.

The cameras monitor public spaces across the island and assist the authorities in responding to crimes, accidents and other emergencies.

There are two components to the programme – the Government-led side, which sees the administration purchasing and installing cameras in public spaces. This aspect of the programme has grown significantly, moving from 180 cameras in 2018 to 840 currently.

The other component allows citizens who have cameras facing public spaces to share their feed.