"We need to increase radio coverage in areas of the City that don’t already have it," said the General Auditor of the City of Buenos Aires (AGCBA) on the communication service that the Metropolitan Police is responsible and from which communicates with critical areas such as SAME, Civil Defense, and Traffic Control. If this is not done, they argue that, "in the event of a major accident, the situation would be unmanageable."

The audit noted that the system operates in the 800 MHz band and therefore, uses 10 frequencies that were assigned by the National Communications Commission (NCC). Just for comparison purposes, the report states that the Federal Police uses 40 channels. However, although the Metropolitan Police force has the technology to expand the spectrum they can’t because there hasn’t been an increase in frequencies or their reach. 

AGCBA dedicated extra time to analyze the communications system. According to the team "if it were to increase the number of terminals or incorporate more emergency services, the problems would be exponentially greater." According to the watchdog, the areas with radio coverage "should be revised, expanded, and adapted in view of the possibilities of a new communication range that would meet the new needs." 

Security? Cameras

The law that gave life to the Metropolitan Police was passed on March 20th, 2010. This new police force had among its objectives to "expand the network of surveillance cameras in the City", which was expected to be "one of the main tools for the prevention of crime". However, the audit identified some "weaknesses" in the Monitoring Center.

First of all, of the two main offices, "to June 2012 only one was in operation." It has 20 workstations and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. As of May 2012 there were 1772 cameras installed in the City "of which only 300 were signaled". On this point the auditors stated that "failure to comply with the 2602 Act which requires the signalization of all cameras with a clear and permanent sign that indicates there is a camera present", or with the 3998 that "requires the publication in the City Government’s website to show every spot where cameras are installed".

Another of the irregularities that was detected in the Monitoring Center, and published in the report of the AGCBA approved this year, is that "the use of cell phones is not prohibited within the monitoring office." Therefore, "there is a risk of image confiscation." Moreover, despite the fact the videos are supposed to be saved for 60 business days, they are only saved for 60 working and non-working days.


Forensics

This is the area within the police force which is responsible for performing chemical and ballistic expertise in crime scenes and to physically identify those who committed a crime.

However, the audit noted that they "do not have the equipment or the technology necessary for completing their job." In fact, they don’t "have facial recognition software or ballistic fingerprints technology, among others." In addition, the Metropolitan Police has no formal agreements with other institution’s databases such as the National Registry of Persons or the Federal Police force, this makes "obtaining and operating" a lot more difficult because they work with less than accurate data.

The auditing team, which evaluated from June 2011 to December 2012, found that officers working in this sector "do not have enough space to perform their job in the proper manner".

Other crimes 

Pedophilia, child pornography cases, scams, threats, drug trafficking, and other crimes are often related to the use of Information Technology and Communications.

About the department that had to monitor these cases, the audit noted that they "do not have a well-equipped laboratory where they can effectively work." The report states that "there is only one space for administrative offices, but the offices use it to store the evidence collected "because the shells intended for that "are full".

In addition, "even though the personnel had requested software necessary for them to complete their jobs, by the end of the audit, the staff had yet to receive it". Finally, because there is a lack of computers, "workers use their personal laptops."