Gauteng province will have access to Vumakam's vast network of surveillance cameras in the province. Cameras contribute to multiple arrests every day.
- Gauteng is set to have access to the Vumacam CCTV camera network.
- According to Vumacam's CEO, the system currently arrests around 10 to 15 people every day in Gauteng.
- Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the province is looking at technology to fight crime.
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To crack down on crime in Gauteng, the Gauteng government has deployed a huge fleet of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras owned and operated by Vumacam to enable a pre-emptive and appropriate response to potential incidents. I plan to access the network. .
With many cameras pointed in his direction, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi signed a memorandum of understanding with Vumakam CEO Ricky Crook to become a company owned and operated by the company. The state has been given access to data from six 911 surveillance cameras.
Crook told News24 that the system is currently used by both private security companies and public law enforcement agencies, resulting in approximately 10 to 15 arrests per day.
“This state will not go unchecked for an inch,” Lesufi said at the signing ceremony on February 13.
He said:
Everyone should be smiling today. You are on camera.
Vumacam has an extensive network of cameras across the state and uses advanced recognition tools to identify and track potential criminals across multiple camera feeds.
Crook told News24 that the most important tool, accounting for around 85% of arrests using the system, is the ability to detect number plates that have been blacklisted for involvement in crime. .
The cameras use Vumatel's fiber network to quickly transmit footage to a control center, where various crime-fighting organizations can coordinate their response to threats.
Although Vumacam was founded in 2018, Croock explained that the effort has only really started to take off in the past year.
“The launch of our partnership with the Gauteng Government builds on Vumacam’s successful partnerships with public bodies in deploying advanced technology to make Gauteng people safer,” Crook said. Stated.
Lesufi said he would like to install cameras in multiple areas in the future.
“Vumakam, I don’t want this in Sandton. I want it in Sebokeng, I want it in Tembisa, I want it in Diepsloot, I want it in the midst of informal reconciliation, because every life matters, every life. ” Must be protected. ”
He said he wanted the cameras to be as widespread as possible “until South Africans start complaining that I'm invading their privacy.”
“Gatvol with crime”
Mr Lesufi said providing access to surveillance cameras was just part of the state's ambitions to leverage technology to fight crime.
Lesufi touted the state's plan to use 180 drones to take aerial photographs of potential crime scenes. He declined to answer questions from News24 about when these drones would start being used, but hinted that there would be a future announcement in this regard.
He added that an announcement will be made within the next two weeks about panic buttons to be installed across the city.
He said he hopes the state will have access to 18,000 surveillance cameras in time.
He also spoke about the increase in helicopters, new vehicles and personnel in the province, adding that the province had allocated R2.8 billion to fight crime. It is not clear exactly over what period this will be allocated.
Lesufi said at multiple points during the day that he would offer to resign if he failed to combat crime in the state.
“If I can't fight crime in this state, I'm going to hand in my resignation tomorrow. I will.” Gatvol “It's like a crime,” he said.