Last year, the surveillance system recorded more than 1,150 incidents. As a result, criminals breaking into kiosks and cars, damaging property and even staging accidents were apprehended. Most of the reprehensible incidents involved the prohibited consumption of alcohol in public places. However, services dealing with very serious crimes also used our surveillance system. These activities are covered by strict secrecy.
The cameras observe the city 24 hours a day. They transmit the image to the Main Monitoring Centre at the headquarters of the Municipal Police at 3 al. Rzeczypospolitej, as well as to the Local Monitoring Centre (viewing centre) in the police building at 2 Staffa Street.
“We record the most incidents during the second shift,” says Konrad Szczepański, the monitoring coordinator of the Legnica Municipal Police. “Eighty per cent of all incidents involve drinking alcohol in public places. Thanks to the surveillance system, we have eliminated this phenomenon from, among other places, the Market Square, the embankments along the Kaczawa and other locations.”
Now, before pulling a bottle out on a bench, heavy drinkers think carefully about whether it is worth risking a fine. As we have already mentioned, cameras are also an excellent weapon against thieves and vandals. Here are several examples. Wrocławska Street, evening hours. The dispatcher notices a young man loitering near parked cars. He smashes a window in one of them, pulls a bag from inside and walks away quickly. The guard immediately notifies the police. The recorded footage shows the criminal being apprehended by the police several dozen metres from the scene of the theft.
Klasztorny Square (Skarbowa Street). A thief breaks into a kiosk. The police are quickly informed. The criminal is caught red-handed. In front of the PKP railway station, the cameras picked up several young people robbing a man asleep on a bench. They were quickly taken into police custody.
Thanks to surveillance footage, an insurer discovered that a car owner had staged an accident to obtain compensation. Another man called an ambulance, saying that he had been hit by a car in front of the hospital. A review of the surveillance footage showed that no such incident had occurred. The man admitted that he had lied because he wanted to see a specialist without waiting in line.
“Cameras also save lives. Thanks to them, many people who became unwell in the street received help very quickly. Unfortunately, many people walk indifferently past those lying on a green or on the pavement. They are not always drunk. In winter, the cameras spot homeless people sleeping at bus stops, and our patrols take them to shelters,” adds Konrad Szczepański. “In December, they also recorded more than 10 incidents involving the destruction of Christmas illuminations. Thanks to this, the vandals were detained.”
The city video surveillance system, following its technological start-up, implementation and testing, was put into use on 20 March of the previous year. It was built by a consortium of three companies: project leader Specialised Projects Polska from Gliwice, together with Miraccord (Andrychów) and Symetria (Busko Zdrój), which won the tender. The project entitled “Construction and modernisation of video surveillance increasing the safety of tourists in Legnica” received a high assessment from the Board of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, which selected it through a competition. The city obtained EU funding amounting to 70 per cent, or approximately PLN 2.5 million. The total cost was approximately PLN 3.7 million. As part of the investment, 65 devices based on digital technology were installed, including 40 Bosch PTZ cameras located at 39 points throughout Legnica. The cameras will cover a significant part of the city, including the following districts: Piekary, Kopernik, the city centre, the areas around the PKP and PKS stations, Kartuzy, Bielany, Przedmieście Głogowskie and Tarninów.
Legnica City Hall/ii