Video cameras to fight crime

By Zou Qi  |   2008-6-12  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

CITY retailing venues such as supermarkets, convenience stores and shopping malls should be equipped with video monitoring systems, according to a security regulation released by the Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.

The newly-issued safety rules will take e6ffect on October 1, when the devices will be installed at entrances, receptions and parking lots at each retailing venue in the city. The security regulation will also apply to gas stations to keep all areas under surveillance.

According to the regulation, color video cameras should be installed at elevators, cashier zones, deposit boxes and areas where promotional events are held in supermarkets.

Under the local standards for security, after the systems are installed, screens should display people's facial features and vehicles' plate numbers clearly. Some anti-terrorism systems, including automatic emergency alarms, explosives detectors and electronic patrolling systems will also be installed in some retailing venues such as jewelry counters at shopping malls.

The timetable for adding the cameras to the venues is being mapped out, some local supermarkets said yesterday.

According to the Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, all Metro stations and trains will have anti-terrorism devices installed and working by the end of 2009. Hotels with 15 or more rooms or providing 50 or more beds, and other places providing accommodation such as clubs, training centers and holiday villages, also have to install video monitoring systems, including closed-circuit television cameras before the 2010 World Expo, the bureau said.