Between 40 and 80 high-tech surveillance cameras will be installed across key public spaces in the Capital, including the Suva Market, the Suva bus terminal and red zones.
Suva City Council CEO Tevita Boseiwaqa said the surveillance rollout would cover the area known as the “bridge-to-bridge” zone.
“These are modern cameras that can even capture your image clearly in the dark and they’re very hard to tamper with,” he said.
“It is what we call the bridge-to-bridge area, from Walu Bay bridge to Nubukalou bridge. But the main focus is the market and the bus stand and that’s where we will install a lot of cameras.”
He said the cameras would feed into monitoring rooms, with the main one installed at the Civic Auditorium.
“But I’ll also have access from my office.
“I just press a button, and I can see what’s happening at the market.”
Mr Boseiwaqa said the cameras would help deter crime and anti-social behaviour and improve staff performance.
“It’s not just about the public.
“It also helps us monitor our own staff — some of them spend too much time on their phones.”
He says the council is also preparing to declare certain areas as drug-free zones, with surveillance playing a key role in monitoring these sites.