Eagle-eyed cameras keep watch over Joburg streets

21 December 2015

 

The languid calm of a sweltering Hillbrow afternoon is suddenly interrupted. An exchange of words between rival taxi operators has boiled over into a full-blown scuffle. Fists are flying. The tension hangs thickly in the air.

 

Law enforcement officials from the JMPD and the SAPS are already on their way to the scene of the fracas. An alert operator sitting in front of an over-sized computer monitor has detected the incident from the images beamed by a CCTV camera located on the corner of Kotze and Pretoria Street. Within seconds the information is relayed to the JMPD liaison officer sharing the vast control room at Penmore Towers in the downtown CBD. A roaming patrol vehicle is dispatched to the scene. Trained officers intervene and emotions are calmed before the incident burns out of control.

Operation Buyis’ iJozi is in full swing. The successful handling of the Hillbrow incident is but one example of the success achieved by law enforcement officials since the introduction of CCTV cameras, says the spokesperson of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, Chief Inspector, Wayne Minnaar.

In partnership with technology provider, Omega Risk Solutions, the Joburg CBD is covered by a protective network of closed-circuit television cameras. On a 24/7 basis potential hotspots of crime are being monitored, suspicious activities identified and the required law enforcement resources deployed to combat the crime.
The success of the operation is reflected in the figures. “There has been a rapid reduction in the incidence of serious and violent crimes in the Joburg inner-city over the past five years,” says Minnaar. “We hardly see crimes such as bank robberies, ATM bombings or armed holdups in areas covered by the cameras anymore.”
As the system gets extended into other areas adjacent to the CBD such as Doornfontein, Berea, Hillbrow and Langlaagte, its effectiveness will also continue to grow. Contact crime such as assaults, theft from vehicles and pickpocketing are also showing a sharp decline.

Each operator at the nerve centre sits behind a monitor that displays the detailed information from 15 cameras that are placed at strategic locations on street corners and roof tops. The operators are trained to detect suspicious behaviour and can easily zoom into a specific location. Once an incident is observed the information is provided to management staff sharing the space in the control room and they are in radio contact with officers on the ground.
All footage are recorded and safely kept in a digital format should it be required as evidence in the prosecution of offenders.

Crime fighting by the numbers:
• 411 – the number of CCTV cameras already installed and monitored.
• 180 – the average number of incidents recorded and responded to per day.
• 21 – the number of suspects caught on camera and prosecuted since the introduction of Buyis’ iJozi in September.
• 8 760 – the number of hours in a year that the CCTV system is supporting law enforcement activities in Johannesburg.