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Surveillance cameras
in banks
By Sun News Publishing
Tuesday, October
7, 2008
Jolted by the ever increasing armed robbery attacks in banks
and financial institutions across the country, the Inspector-General
of Police (IGP), Mike Okiro, has issued an ultimatum to these
institutions to install surveillance cameras in their banking
halls and premises.
The warning came on the heels of the recent armed robbery
attack on a new generation bank in Ibadan, Oyo State, in which
some policemen were killed.
To this effect, the IGP has given these institutions up to
January 1, 2009 to comply with the directive or risk the withdrawal
of the services of the Nigeria Police. Okiro had, while giving
the warning at a meeting with the executives of the financial
institutions at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, explained that
the decision was borne out of the need to protect police personnel
posted to such outfits for official duties. To underscore
the seriousness of the order, the IGP has directed all Commissioners
of Police nationwide to ensure that police personnel are posted
to only financial institutions that have complied with the
security directive after the deadline.
It is not in doubt that the global trend in security now is
greatly in favour of the use of Closed Circuit Television
(CCTV) and other surveillance gadgets and monitors. In our
own case, it has become more compelling to use these novel
techniques to secure banking operations in view of spates
of bank robberies in recent times.
The idea to introduce the surveillance cameras in the nation’s
banking halls and premises of financial institutions is long
overdue because their absence further exposes these banks
to higher risks of robbery attacks.
There is no doubt that the introduction of the cameras is
going to significantly improve the security situation in these
banks and assist in keeping the robbers at bay.
While lauding this crime-bursting technique in our land, we
also suggest that these financial institutions should link
the gadgets to the nearest police stations for effective crime
monitoring and prevention. The gadgets should be installed
in such a way that the robbers would not have access to them
or tamper with them.
This also brings to the fore the need for internal security
in these banks. We say this because it is now common knowledge
that most bank robberies these days take place with the active
connivance of an insider. It is also largely the case that
a robbery operation in a bank will hardly succeed without
insider collaboration. It therefore behoves these financial
institutions to know who their staff really are. The need
for proper screening of employees during recruitment exercise
has become instructive more than ever before in view of insider
sabotage.
If the banks and financial institutions are able to solve
the problem of insider dealings, then the war on bank robberies
would have been partially won. Besides, the country is now
ripe for the installation of surveillance cameras at strategic
locations in our urban cities to help nip crimes in the bud.
The time has also come for the police to have a data bank
of identities and finger-prints of Nigerians as part of general
crime prevention and control measures.
The security agencies should also evolve clever and scientific
methodologies of curtailing armed robbery operations in the
country. Beyond this, let the government step up efforts to
create jobs for the teeming army of unemployed Nigerians.
There is no way we can divorce the upsurge of criminal activities
in the country from the general poverty and unemployment in
the land.
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