LAHORE, September 25, 2026 — The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has launched a Rs16 billion expansion of the Safe City surveillance network, with plans to extend digital monitoring across 98 tehsils of the province. The project includes the installation of around 10,000 new surveillance cameras.
Safe City Network to Reach 98 Tehsils
The expansion is designed to take technology-based policing beyond Punjab’s major urban centres and into tehsil-level areas.
Officials said the government also plans to eventually extend digital surveillance operations to 7,602 union councils, significantly increasing the geographical coverage of the Safe City system.
Thousands of New Cameras Planned
Under the new project, approximately 10,000 additional cameras will be installed across the province.
Punjab currently has more than 24,000 high-definition cameras monitoring roads, markets, highways and other public spaces. Safe City operations are already functional in nearly 40 cities, while 43 smart Safe City centres provide surveillance and operational support to law-enforcement agencies.
AI Technology to Support Police
The surveillance network uses more than a dozen artificial intelligence-based systems, including automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), facial recognition, smart vision, crime analytics and intelligent traffic management.
These technologies are designed to help authorities identify suspicious activity, detect stolen vehicles, analyse crime patterns and support police investigations and emergency responses.
Officials Report Reduction in Serious Crime
According to a Punjab government official cited in reports, the existing Safe City network has been associated with a reported 70% reduction in heinous and serious crime in areas covered by the system.
Officials also said that on September 20, no emergency 15 call related to robbery, street crime or snatching was recorded in the 39 districts covered by the Safe City network. These figures are government-reported and reflect the authorities’ assessment of the system’s impact.
Expansion Part of Safe Punjab Initiative
The latest project is part of Punjab’s broader “Safe Punjab” initiative, which aims to expand technology-driven policing and surveillance.
The Punjab Police describes the Safe Cities programme as an integrated system combining technology, real-time information, emergency response and electronic evidence to support public safety and policing.
supernews,pk