CITIZENS need not worry, as the Public Telecommunications Ministry’s Safe City Project is not designed to infringe on people’s right to privacy but only for safety of all.

While some have raised concerns over possible facial recognition and tracking technologies being used by the cameras, the government assures that is has no plan to implement the same in the city streets anytime in the foreseeable future.

In a release to the media on Friday, the ministry cleared up speculations which came to its attention, making it clear that it is only the Cheddi Jagan International Airport; the Eugene F. Correia International Airport and the Molesen Creek Ferry Crossing that facial recognition technology will be deployed.

“The specialised cameras at the official ports are very different from the CCTV cameras erected in public spaces. These cameras are the only ones capable of comparing images generated from automatic facial recognition software against databases administered by the Guyana Police Force, and by recognised international security agencies that Guyana has bilateral relationships with. While the cameras installed on the streets are of extremely high quality, they are not equipped for automatic facial recognition,” the ministry stated.
Back in July 2019, the Safe City Project was launched through the mounting of 104 poles with four cameras each attached across the City, with more expected.

The cameras are currently being installed as part of the Safe City Component of Guyana’s National Broadband Project and function by recording activities on the City streets monitored through a Command Centre in the compound of the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara

The cameras are helping to cramp down on crime by observing the movement of vehicles and actions in strategic public locations and hotspots for criminal activities in Georgetown such as the downtown Stabroek Market.

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The Safe City Programme is very popular in some developed countries, including the US and England.

“The Ministry of Public Telecommunications welcomes this opportunity to further explain the Safe City Initiative and its importance to ensuring safer communities for the benefit of everyone in Guyana,” the release stated.

“We now reiterate that the new system is designed solely for everyone’s safety and security, and is not intended to infringe on an individual’s right to privacy,” the release added.

Guyanese operators of the Command Centre are currently being trained by a consulting team of British security experts who are developing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to guide the operations of the centre.

According to the Ministry, access to the CCTV network of cameras is only possible by authorised security personnel who are stringently vetted before they are assigned to the National Emergency Response Command Centre (NERCC).

The NERCC can ensure the efficient deployment of law enforcement staff; better multi-agency response to incidents and emergencies; increased success and efficiency in bringing criminals to justice; enhanced security coordination for major public events; efficient disaster management; increased awareness of threats to public security; establishing integrity of data and information for the criminal justice system; presentation of ‘hard’ evidence in court cases and more.

Their operations will be guided by the standard SOPs being developed by the consulting team of UK security experts.

Meanwhile, the Safe City programme operates on an independent government-owned fibre-optic network managed by the National Data Management Authority (NDMA), an agency of the Ministry of Public Telecommunications.

The ministry added: “We also wish to assure the public that personal data stored by agencies such as the Central Immigration and Passport Office, Guyana Elections Commission and Guyana Revenue Authority, have not been and will not be shared under this project. In fact, the laws and regulations that govern these agencies prevent unauthorised sharing of such data.”