The central Dos de Mayo square is enhancing its security with the 16 AI-equipped surveillance cameras installed a few days ago by the Madrid City Council, which will be joined by another 37 throughout the city, specifically on Cullera street (Latina), in Pradolongo Park (Usera), and in Calero (Ciudad Lineal).
Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, toured the square yesterday with the deputy mayor and delegate of Security and Emergencies, Inma Sanz, and the council president of the Center, Carlos Segura, where he detailed that the City Council has installed 16 cameras, three more than initially planned.
These cameras cover the strategic locations of the square and its surroundings with artificial intelligence, which assists the operator in searching for images, a technology that has been implemented in 83 cameras operated by the Municipal Police, representing 22% of the total.
Almeida emphasized that its implementation coincides with the operation of the video surveillance system in Elíptica square, which consists of around fifteen cameras equipped with AI technology. Alongside the four new cameras enabled in Puerta del Sol during this term – three of them featuring AI – this adds up to a total of 367 cameras managed by the Municipal Police, with almost 40% of them, nearly 150, being installed since Almeida became mayor of the capital.
All the cameras operated by the Municipal Police have informative signs so that neighbors and passersby are informed of the presence of video surveillance, whose images are exclusively monitored by officers and stored for a specific period at the Integrated Video Signal Center (CISEVI) for review if necessary.
The City Council is already processing the installation of new video surveillance systems on Cullera street (Latina, 18 cameras), in Pradolongo Park (Usera, 14 cameras), and in Calero Park (Ciudad Lineal, five cameras).
There will be a total of 37 cameras ready for operation, pending approval from the Surveillance Commission, by the end of this year. In the first term of Almeida, 111 cameras were installed, specifically in the neighborhoods of Bellas Vistas (Tetuán), San Diego (Puente de Vallecas), the Marconi industrial estate (Villaverde), and the districts of Centro, Lavapiés, and Chueca, as well as the revamped network on Montera street, along with the systems in Lavapiés and Ballesta street.
Martínez-Almeida emphasized that video surveillance “ensures both coexistence and security” in those areas “where residents have reported numerous disturbances and incidents, primarily at night.”
“We want rest and neighborly well-being to be one of the key features and hallmarks of the city of Madrid,” Almeida stated. Faced with a resident from Dos de Mayo who has expressed her opposition to the cameras, the mayor assured her that she can rest assured when it comes to respecting her privacy."
As a Rule of Law, there is a very protective regulation following all procedures, authorized by the Surveillance Commission of the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid, in accordance with the regulations on privacy protection.
“The mayor confirmed, 'There will be no intrusion or violation of people's privacy. What will exist is a safeguarding of the rest and well-being of the neighbors,' He explained that the footage is stored for 30 days and only viewed when there is a judicial requirement.”
He also emphasized that the cameras will help combat binge drinking in the square, “one of the issues that seriously affect coexistence in the city”. “One of the important aspects of these cameras is that they are not only aimed at strengthening security but also at ensuring coexistence,” he said, stating that “these cameras will help prevent and precisely deter binge drinking in the Plaza del Dos de Mayo”.
This square is also going to be renovated by the City Council. To do this, a ideas competition is being held by the Works department in collaboration with the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM). The jury has until March to choose among the 59 proposals that have been submitted.
The winner will serve as the basis for the redevelopment project of this area in the University neighborhood. The City Council's forecast is that, once the project is drafted and tendered, construction works in the square will begin in 2026.