Islamabad:
No criminal entering the federal capital will be able to escape the eyes of the safe city cameras. Another 3,200 advanced cameras equipped with facial recognition and detection of traffic violation will soon be installed, which significantly improves the SAFE City project in Islamabad.
The Director General of Islamabad Safe City, Shakir Hussain Dawar, shared this during a media briefing on Thursday with senior crime reporters. He said a PC-1 worth RS17.4 billion has been prepared and presented to modernize the SAFE City initiative.
DG Dawar emphasized that in light of the growing meaning of artificial intelligence (AI), federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Islamabad ig Ali Nasir Rizvi are particularly aware of upgrading the safe urban infrastructure. Currently, 2,758 cameras are installed across the city, 700 of which are AI activated. The planned addition of 3,200 advanced AI cameras brings almost 100% of Islamabad during camera surveillance, enabling the authorities to maintain a comprehensive registration of each individual entering the city.
In addition to new cameras, seven high -powered servers are also integrated into the system. These servers will improve the capabilities of both new and existing cameras, enabling face recognition, license plate detection and other critical features.
DG Dawar revealed that 77 criminal gangs have been identified, thanks to the current surveillance system and 32 have already been arrested. Authorities actively pursue the remaining 45 gangs. Real -time monitoring is performed in the safe city headquarters and any suspicious activity or individuals are immediately reported to field police units, often leading to quick arrests.
He also mentioned that when the Safe City project was originally launched, only a few cameras had face recognition features. However, more advanced AI-activated cameras have since been acquired. With upcoming upgrades, cameras mounted on the rooftops will be able to capture clear images of individuals inside moving vehicles, enabling precise identification.
E-mail checkpoints are also used to monitor incoming and outgoing traffic. In the past year, these systems have led to the arrest of 1,000 people who are desired in different cases and recovery of over 1,000 stolen vehicles.
DG Dawar noted that vehicle thefts are more common in urban areas of Islamabad. Currently, the entire camera system runs on only two servers. There are plans to install 14 new, powerful and expensive servers that allow even older, non-ai cameras to work with AI capacities.
In addition, new fiber optic cables are added throughout the city to support this extended infrastructure. These efforts are aimed at improving public security and enabling faster fear of criminals.
He added that suspects involved in several recent high-profile crimes have been arrested using AI technology and surveillance recordings. The system automatically generates warnings if any known criminal enters the camera range.
“About 60-70% of criminals in Islamabad come outside the city, which is why we focus more on the capital’s entrance and starting points,” he said.
