Armenian Traffic Police To Introduce Surveillance Cameras

7, November 2005
Armenia Liberty
By Karine Kalantarian

The Armenian police pledged Monday to reverse a growing number of road accidents with an “automated system of traffic control” that will result in first-ever surveillance cameras in Yerevan and other parts of the country.
[...]
The first stage of the program envisages the installation of 214 cameras and speed radars on just about every busy square and street intersection in Yerevan. The process is due to be completed by the end of next year and extended to the rest of Armenia by 2010. The Armenian government will spend $1.5 million for that purpose, said Hunanian {the deputy chief of the national Police Service, said the new system of road policing}.

[...] about 13,600 cars were imported into Armenia during the first nine months of this year, raising the nationwide total to above 300,000.

Police officials estimate that Armenia now boasts more vehicles than it did in Soviet times. They attribute this to an almost 10 percent rise in the number of accidents registered by the traffic police from January through September.
[...]

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.