Moscow’s mayor says more CCTV is being rolled out in the capital’s streets and squares.
The cameras will be installed on rooftops to maximize their range.
Officers monitoring the footage will have access to a database of all criminals convicted in Russia. This will help them to identify suspected criminals and access information about them.
City Hall will also invest in more powerful severs to store information for several years, instead of the 12 days currently.
This comes days after President Medvedev said that CCTV cameras should replace witnesses during police raids.
Medvedev believes using witnesses is an outdated practice. Policemen often complain that witnesses are hard to find, and people can be put-off by the fear of revenge from criminals.
His proposal will be discussed by the Interior Ministry on December 1.