The City of Cape Town says installing CCTV across the metro are reaping rewards when it comes to detecting crime.
Between April and June 2023, the Metro Police StrategicSurveillance Unit (SSU) detected 7 339 incidents, including crime, vandalism,
motor vehicle accidents, fires and other miscellaneous incidents.
According to the City, this was a 108% increase compared to
the same period the previous year, when 3 524 incidents were detected.
PICTURE: PixabayMayoral committee member for Safety & Security, JP
Smith, said among the reasons for the increase are the installation of
additional cameras in areas like Bishop Lavis, Delft, Nyanga, Mitchell’s Plain
and Kraaifontein; and the introduction of satellite CCTV control rooms in
Retreat, Ocean View and Grassy Park, with local Neighbourhood Watch (NW)
members monitoring the cameras for quick responses to detections by NW groups,
SAPS and City enforcement agencies.
‘’Apart from the growing camera network, our SSU has put in
a lot of work to extract more value from its camera network. Thanks to improved
information sharing with local police stations, our CCTV operators can do more
effective monitoring in the right areas, and at the right times. We’ve also
introduced refresher training for operators, and deployed experienced
enforcement staff to the control rooms to help guide operators, and we have
implemented improved work flows around the dispatching of units to an incident,
using our integrated Emergency Policing Incident Command (EPIC) platform. As we
fine-tune these processes in the coming months, it is expected that the arrest
rate too will increase,’’ said JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and
Security.
‘The expansion of our CCTV network and investment in other
technologies is but one aspect. The other, more critical aspect is ensuring
that these tools are utilised effectively. So we are also working on expanding
digital evidence gathering, storage and analytics into the future, and
integrating systems and information not just across departments within the
City, but external agencies too. The ideal would be to seamlessly share
resources and information as we work towards a common goal of increased safety
in our city,’’ he added.
Done By: Esona Mfazwe
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