‘Old and outdated’ Hanoi security cameras need replacing: police chief

Responding to a question about the application of information technology in ensuring traffic safety, including surveillance systems, at a Hanoi People’s Council meeting Thursday, the director of the Police Department, Lieutenant General Nguyen Hai Trung, said the city has two types of cameras on roads.

One is for measuring traffic flow and general observation, and the other is for spotting violations, and their data is received at the police command center, he said.

The cameras are at 149 intersections but all are “old and outdated” and the city has been unable to penalize violators based on their footage, he said.

Hanoi should learn from Moscow and Beijing and install an advanced camera system that uses artificial intelligence to not just monitor traffic violations but also prevent and detect crimes early.

He said Moscow has 400,000 modern cameras while one district in Beijing alone has as many as 40,000, he said.

Footage from security cameras is showed on a computer screen at a Hanoi police office. Photo by VnExpress/Bac Nguyen

“The number of cameras and traffic lights in Hanoi is nothing [compared to the population and traffic volume]. Soon we will repair and upgrade existing cameras, and install more.”

The director of the city Department of Transport, Nguyen Phi Thuong, said of the 2,310 intersections and T-junctions only 550 have lights and 474 have cameras.

The city has around 7.9 million vehicles, including 6.8 million motorbikes and 1.1 million cars, while another 1.2 million enter it from elsewhere every day.