Highlights of the recent achievements in crime fighting over the first 100 days in office and further exploring the role of innovative technology in shaping safer communities.
Addressing the media and stakeholders at the Gauteng Provincial Government e-Government command centre, the MEC mentioned that his department was selected to provide technologically innovative ideas that will assist law enforcement to deal with the scourge of crime. We are very delighted today to see this investment in the Vuma cam CCTV camera technology contributing to the arresting of criminals.
This department is so far the only department in the whole of government established to modernize and digitize government services. It is also a backbone of the Gauteng Provincial Government responsible to provide modernized ICT infrastructure – playing an imperative role to manage the province’s digital systems, financial systems, cloud services and cyber security.
In addition to this, the department is responsible to develop and manage ICT applications for the delivery of services such as e-services, provision of connectivity in Gauteng communities known as the Gauteng Provincial Network, ICT skills development to achieve digital literacy in Gauteng and implementing crime fighting technologies. To protect our communities. This is how we then came up with the whole initiative of e-Policing which comprises of the deployment of CCTV cameras with high tech number plate recognition, e-Panic Button, drones, and the command center to operate all of this.
With regards to the development and deployment of CCTV cameras across Gauteng, we ensured that we target areas marked as crime hot spots, roads such as our freeways, our TISH areas, referring to Townships, Informal Settlements and Hostels.
The assessment of the effectiveness of the CCTV camera initiative of the provincial government managed by Vuma cam focused on the 3 months June – September 2024, towards its success rate.
We have a total number of 6469 live cameras stationed across Gauteng operated and managed by Vuma cam and these cameras have been instrumental to get a good view of the criminal activities taking place in our province.
The types of crimes that we have been dealing with include carjacking, robberies such as house robberies, and theft. The CCTV cameras are able to take clear pictures of where these criminal activities are taking place, the area and number plates of cars. This assists us to take the necessary steps and do arrests accordingly.
For example, over the past 3 months we have had 104 arrests, we recovered 476 vehicles and confiscated 264 vehicles. This is a step towards the right direction, and I would like to commend the Vuma cam team for this amazing work. This initiative is providing us with hope that we are not fighting a losing battle, but Gauteng will be a safe province again.
The Chief Commercial Officer of Vuma cam Michael Varney stated that the initiative is a public private partnership that involve network data program which can also be beneficial to dense areas that can be also advantageous for national border posts. During operations, the alert comes through to the control room and the security clusters are dispatched instantly! 55 000 vehicles of interests that are involved in a crime that criminals use to commit various crimes have been identified on a daily basis.
Beyond crime, the cameras provide critical safety and environment information which contribute to the overall quality of life for residents, business, and visitors. This includes important surveillance alerts in and around the Roads agency, Parks and recreation, the Power utility, Law enforcement and Emergency services. The likelihood of getting spotted and caught in the act, conscientises and changes the behavioural patterns of local citizens.
Furthermore the establishment of the panic button plays a crucial role in successfully assisting citizens in trouble.
Looking at success statistics, the emergency response times have improved from averages of 18-30 minutes to the current quicker response averages of 5 – 10 minutes. 476 vehicles were intercepted of which 264 were impounded for various crimes. 41021 dispatched crime wardens and other public sector policing units. 101 criminals were arrested. The specific crime hot-spot data is released to the provincial office on a weekly basis.
Vuma cam have also introduced SafeCity, a technology that support private Security companies and public law enforcement. Giving access to surveillance partners to a full network empowering them with new ways of dealing with crime using AI and technology both on the ground and in the air.
The future looks bright as more cameras are getting installed and networks expanding. In specific corridors of the country, in townships and informal settlements, etc. With more sustained continuous training and skills development of operators. The gunshot detection technology that informs the location where a specific firearm was fired from in the communities, will be responded to by the dispatch of appropriate units.
Jerry Sokhupe
Soweto Sunrise News
