Jail breaks: It’s time for CCTVs in prisons – Security consultant
A security consultant, Dickson Osajie, has called for the installation of Closed-Circuit Television, CCTV, systems in all correctional facilities in the country over the spate of jail breaks in Nigeria.
Osajie stated this on Wednesday, when he was answering questions on ‘The Morning Brief’, a programme on Channels Television.
His call follows the escape of 16 inmates from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
He noted, “The Nigerian prison facilities, we need to know if they have CCTV monitoring systems in place. CCTV plays a role in psychological deterrence.
“If these criminals are aware they are being monitored by CCTV systems, they will not take a step to carry out prison break activities. So, for the most part, they need to have the CCTV in place and have officers monitor it live,” he said.
He questioned how inmates could escape while officers were on duty and called for the need for technological surveillance, noting that every prison should have a control room to monitor all activities in real time.
“If we have a prison facility, we must have a control room in place that will monitor everything going on in the prison facility. Where are the technological systems to send a signal to the control room,” he asked.
Osajie said for an inmate to escape, he must have passed through these zones from the inner zone where they are kept to the middle zone where you have the administrative blocks and to the outer zone before you can escape.
