5,000 cameras to protect Grand Mosque

JEDDAH: The government has installed 5,000 high-definition cameras on all floors and courtyards of the Grand Mosque to ensure security and crowd control.

These cameras are monitored 24 hours a day by officers at a control center in Mina. They have to watch giant screens with maps and other data updated constantly from the cameras at the Grand Mosque and surrounding streets, a local publication reported recently.

The center is also busy with reports coming in and going out, and officers communicating with patrols via wireless handsets. Maj. Gen. Saad bin Abdullah Al-Khelaiwi, director general of the center, said it monitors the data from all cameras.

“The center works with security field teams during peak times, such as before Iftar and after Taraweeh prayers to ensure the safety of every individual. The center also monitors the mechanisms for guiding worshipers and visitors at public transport stations in the central area surrounding the Grand Mosque.”