The city council wants more cameras in Eindhoven to improve security. Council members took a walk along the city centre, to get a good idea of the camera surveillance. “It is necessary. We already have so few cops and boas.”
During the walk, the council members heard about the current practice and future plans. “Very enlightening how many cameras there actually are in our city,” says Eva de Bruijn of GroenLinks.
Eindhoven currently has 38 municipal cameras. That’s fewer than in other cities. Rotterdam leads the way with 480 cameras. Tilburg, Den Bosch, Amsterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht also have proportionately more cameras than Eindhoven.
Safety
The Mayor and aldermen believe that the new cameras should improve safety in the city. According to the city council, there is a need for more camera surveillance in some areas of the city. For example, the Woenselse Markt needs fixed cameras. For three years there have been flexible cameras there, but the problems in the area are structural. Flexible cameras should be installed on Fellenoord and Kruisstraat. The college also wants cameras at intersections with traffic lights. “If there has been an accident, we can see on the cameras what happened,” said Sander Flight of the Municipality of Eindhoven.
Remco van Dooren, group chairman of the CDA, thinks additional cameras are a good plan. “I think it is necessary for security reasons to put up extra cameras. We already have so few police officers and enforcers. They can’t see everything. Cameras are a good way to provide extra eyes.”
Privacy
But mainly due to privacy issues, not all council members are enthusiastic about the cameras. After all, Eindhoven has already been taken to task a few times because the municipality handles collected personal data carelessly. “Remarkable how much privacy people are willing to give up for more security,” says Inge Teklenburg of the opposition party Volt. De Bruijn also thinks privacy is important for Eindhoven residents. “Preferably as few cameras as possible. If you do put one up, there has to be a good reason for it.”
Source: Studio040
Translation: Chaitali Sengupta. She also gives online INBURGERING classes.
