Saudi to open ‘biggest’ security surveillance centre in Middle East

Saudi Arabia is planning to launch a new security surveillance centre which local media reported on Sunday will be the “biggest and most modern” in the Middle East.

The Saudi Gazette reported that the new National Centre for Joint Security Operations will have access to 18,000 security surveillance cameras, which will be “linked to smart applications” accessed by 1,600 newly trained officers.

It is not known when the centre will officially open, but the gazette said the Road Security Control is already operating from the new premises.

Authorities will gradually make “911” the number to call for any Saudi with a security related problem – anyone who calls will be passed to the new security centre “within seconds”.

All the officers who will manage the centre are fluent in English, according to the gazette, which added that they were trained abroad without revealing specifically where.

The centre will have “two giant screens” where images from the 18,000 security cameras will appear, which the gazette said would make it the biggest in the region.

The centre was previously known as the Command and Control Centre, and dealt solely with coordinating security services. The new centre will integrate all security related matters into one centralised body.