Pattaya’s Cctv System Not Working

Sawittree Namwiwatsuk

City officials have acknowledged that 85% of Pattaya’s CCTV system is out of order and are preparing to assemble a 60-million baht budget for additional installments covering risky areas.

On May 12 at city hall, Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh said the city has received several million baht to solve traffic and crime problems.

But this security project is not being run at full capacity due to incomplete management. This was after receiving 56 million baht to install 237 CCTV cameras on Pattaya Beach, main roads and at important tourism areas in 2004.

Even though it is an efficient system, it lacks management and police manpower to control and monitor and therefore has not been completely successful. Five years have passed and most of the CCTV cameras are out of order, he said.

“Pattaya City realizes this problem and has contacted Provincial Police in Region 2 to provide officers to monitor traffic and crime. A 15-million baht budget was set up to repair the CCTV system.

“A budget of 60 million baht was added for 200 additional CCTV cameras to cover Jomtien Beach, the main roads, the road running parallel to the railway and other vulnerable locations such as gold shops and banks, to be completed by 2011,” he said.

Ronakit said that apart from the CCTV system, currently Mayor Itthipol Khunplome’s policy also emphasizes additional street illumination and more security personnel, especially the Volunteer Thappraya 2310 Group.