PETALING JAYA, Sept 6 — Budget constraints have been the cause of faulty closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitors in police stations.
“The ministry is aware of the situation and the limited budget is the cause,” Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed told Malay Mail.
“Although there are CCTVs installed at all stations, whether or not the cameras are working is another issue altogether,” he said.
Nur Jazlan said the Finance Ministry had cut the budget on procurement, and part of that budget was set aside for the maintenance of the cameras.
“With the growing number of police stations, the budget allocated for this purpose is not in tandem (with growth) and therefore, it has become insufficient,” he said.
Nur Jazlan was asked to comment about the limited security features, such as CCTVs, at police stations operating at shoplots and shared buildings.
On Thursday, Lance Corporal Velentino Mesa, 29, who was on duty at the Pinggiran USJ police station, was found fatally shot and slashed.
He is believed to have been shot dead with his own pistol and slashed in the head by his assailants. His body was found face-down behind a counter at the community station by his colleagues an hour later at 3.25am.
Malay Mail had recently reported there was no working CCTV camera at the station and therefore police had to resorted to using cameras at nearby premises for footage to assist in investigations.
The source said the police station had a CCTV system installed but it was damaged two months ago.
The source also said there was a CCTV camera installed outside the station and another inside, were not working.
Nur Jazlan said the budget cuts had affected the procurement of many things for the police force, such as their operational necessities like computers and printers and logistics — such as police cars and trucks which were more than 15 years old.
“There will be more police stations in the future in major cities where the population growth is high.
“The emergence of police stations at shoplots and shared buildings was a solution because there was a lack of suitable land and funds.
“It was a temporary solution at first, but it continued over time,” he said
He added, police stations in shoplots are less secure than police stations in their own building.
“The shoplot police stations don’t have a buffer area and the shopfront is exposed to direct attack,” he said.
In June, the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission hearing to investigate the death of 44-year-old S. Balamurugan, who died in custody in the station lock-up learnt that the CCTV cameras installed at the Bandar Baru Klang police station could not do recordings.
Earlier this year, police top brass announced that 58 police lock-ups nationwide had been installed with CCTV cameras to enhance security of the detention control system.
