Security Gadgets Vogue in Douala

Owing to the prevailing security situation in the country, many individuals and companies are resorting to security gadgets to ensure their security. The quest for security gadgets has given rise to a new kind of business as some people are specialized in the sale and installation of security gadgets. The gadgets range from security cameras to scanners passing through panoramic bulbs and anti-intrusion electric cameras or alarm systems.

According to Njomo Patrick, the most highly solicited appliances are security cameras and hand scanners. The security cameras are solicited mostly by offices, hotels and private security companies as well as some well to do homes. However he said with the advent of panoramic bulbs which serve as light bulbs, security cameras and alarm, the market for security cameras has dropped as most people prefer to buy but the panoramic bulb. A panoramic bulb cost about FCFA 30.000 while the price of a security camera range from FCFA150.000 to 350.000 plus installation depending on the capacity of the camera and the connection charges.

The big standing scanners are mostly solicited by hotels and companies while the hand scanners are demanded by security companies. Njomo Patrick said at first the hand scanners were highly solicited in the northern part of the country with the outbreak of the Boko Haram mayhem especially when organizing public meetings but that trend is beginning to die down with the containment of the atrocities.

The multiplication of security gadgets in private homes and offices has greatly reduced the rate of theft or banditry in business places and offices and even when they occur, the security cameras provide valuable information to investigators. Recently in Douala, a group of bandit’s unknown to them, were filmed live as they made a holdup in a shop and made away with valuables and money. The footage of the security camera clearly identified the perpetrators of the crime easing the work of the police. It is not unc...