The City of Cape Town is making real inroads with its CCTV system that has proved its worth so much so that nearly R12 million will be spent on further expansion in the next twelve months.
According to JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security, this strategic surveilance equipment has allowed for more than 3 000 incidents to be detected across the city in the past four months while at least 108 people were arrested as a direct result.
“Currently the city has a network of 440 CCTV cameras in various parts of Cape Town allowing us to monitor and detect a wide range of incidents including accidents, crime and fires.”
Speaking at a business summit hosted by the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry last week, Smith said the system was being used far more optimally at present than in the past, thanks to information sharing with larger cities like London.
“There is still room for improvement,” said Smith. “The responses don’t always match the real-time events because resources are thinly spread. I’m also not convinced that the footage is being used as effectively as it could be. And the system is not immune to vandalism and theft or infrastructure. That being said, we are making progress,” he said.
According to Smith the investment into the system would not only see new cameras being installed but existing cameras were also being retrofitted with automatic number plate recognition ability.
Currently the City has a network of 440 CCTV cameras in various parts of Cape Town.
Smith said they were also investing in drones as part of their surveilance strategy.
“All of these efforts ultimately ensure a safe environment where business can prosper,” he said.
