The Australian Government, through the Timor-Leste Police Development Program (TLPDP) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), provided mobile Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) equipment to the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) to control crime in the capital Dili.
Minister for the Interior, Francisco da Costa Guterres, said that PNTL currently has good cooperation with TLPDP, and he acknowledged that police crime-control work requires modern surveillance equipment to facilitate policing operations in the capital, Dili.
“The Australian Government, through TLPDP and the AFP, supports Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) for the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) to combat criminal acts in the capital, Dili,” he said.
He added that the CCTV equipment provided to the PNTL can further strengthen police work and help ensure that Dili becomes a capital that is free and safe for everyone to carry out activities, both day and night.
“I ask PNTL to take good care of this equipment supported by our Australian partners, so that it can be used for a long time and help facilitate crime control in Dili,” Minister Guterres said.
He explained that PNTL has faced significant difficulties when crimes occur in Dili, including in detecting perpetrators but with the support of mobile CCTV, it is expected that crimes can be detected more quickly after they occur.
“These mobile CCTV units for the National Police of Timor-Leste are what we call ‘mobile’ CCTV cameras, which can be deployed across Dili. When an incident occurs, they can be quickly moved to monitor the situation,” he emphasised.
He added that the CCTV equipment is connected to specially designed mobile phones, making it easier to monitor incidents occurring at specific locations.
“This is a very positive step. When people fight or incidents occur, the police can immediately observe and respond. The objective of supporting this electronic equipment is to assist our police in carrying out their duties,” he said.
He noted that there are two mobile CCTV units and that one will be installed at the PNTL command operations centre, and the other can be set up at designated locations as needed.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner for Crime from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Ian McCartney, said that this support ris part of the bilateral cooperation between Australia and Timor-Leste, aimed at strengthening the work of security authorities in the country.
“We are here to show that the AFP and TLPDP are also providing the equipment you see to help PNTL carry out its work more effectively, because with mobile CCTV it is possible to detect problems quickly,” he said.He added that going forward, TLPDP and the AFP remain ready to continue working with PNTL and will continue to support PNTL with equipment and training.
