Gauteng is set to gain access to Vumacam’s vast CCTV camera network in the province. The cameras are helping to effect multiple arrests every day.
- Gauteng is set to gain access to the Vumacam CCTV camera network.
- According to the CEO of Vumacam, the system is currently resulting in roughly 10 to 15 arrests in Gauteng each day.
- Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says the province is looking to technology to tackle crime.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
In a bid to clamp down on crime in the province, the Gauteng provincial government is set to gain access to a huge network of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras owned and operated by Vumacam to enable pre-emptive and proportional responses to potential incidents.
With many cameras pointed in his direction, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi signed a memorandum of understanding with Vumacam CEO Ricky Croock to give the province access to data from the 6 911 CCTV cameras that the company owns and operates.
Croock told News24 that the system, which is currently being used by both private security companies and public law enforcement authorities, is resulting in the arrest of roughly 10 to 15 people per day.
“There is no inch of this province that is going to go unmonitored,” said Lesufi at the signing on 13 February.
He said:
Today everyone must smile. You are on camera.
Vumacam has a large network of cameras across the province that use advanced recognition tools to identify and track potential criminal actors across multiple camera feeds.
The most vital tool, which Croock told News24 accounts for roughly 85% of the arrests that have been made using the system, is the ability to detect number plates that have been blacklisted owing to their involvement in a crime.
The cameras rapidly transfer footage to control centres using Vumatel’s fibre network, where different crime-fighting bodies can then coordinate a response to the threat.
A Vumacam control centre. A panel showed a string of recent arrests that were made using the Vumacam system. Panels on the walls showed live footage from cameras stationed around the province.
Vumacam was founded in 2018, but Croock explained that the initiative has really started to pick up in terms of impact over the past year.
“The launch of our partnership with the Gauteng provincial government builds on the success of Vumacam’s partnerships with public entities as we deploy our advanced technology to make the people of Gauteng safer,” said Croock.
Panyaza Lesufi and Ricky Croock signed a memorandum of understanding, which is set to allow the Gauteng Provincial Government to access data from the Vumacam CCTV camera network.
Panyaza Lesufi and Ricky Croock fielding questions about the collaboration of Vumacam and the Gauteng Provincial Government.
Lesufi said he wants the cameras to be installed in multiple areas going forward.
“Vumacam, I don’t want this thing in Sandton. I want it in Sebokeng, I want it in Tembisa, I want it in Diepsloot, I want it in the middle of an informal settlement, because all lives are important and all lives must be protected.”
He said he wanted the cameras to be installed as widely as possible “until South Africans start to complain that I am invading their privacy”.
‘Gatvol with crime’
Lesufi said gaining access to the CCTV cameras is only part of the province’s ambition to use technology to help combat crime.
Lesufi touted the province’s plan to use 180 drones to get aerial footage of potential crime scenes. He declined to answer a question from News24 about when these drones will start being used, but hinted at an upcoming announcement in this regard.
He added there was set to be an announcement in the next two weeks about panic buttons that are going to become available across the city.
He wants the province to have access to 18 000 CCTV cameras in time, he said.
He further spoke about the province’s procurement of helicopters, new vehicles and more personnel, adding that the province has allocated R2.8 billion to tackle crime. It is not clear exactly over which period this will be allocated.
At multiple points on the day, Lesufi said that he would tender his resignation if he failed to combat crime in the province.
“If I fail to fight crime in the province, I will hand in my resignation tomorrow. I am gatvol with crime,” he said.