Businesses team up for a safer Ekurhuleni

Vumacam has been rolling out cameras in various areas of the City of Johannesburg for just over three years, and has seen major successes in the prevention of crime and the apprehension of criminals.

The efficacy of the smart surveillance cameras in Johannesburg has generated significant interest from residents and security providers from other municipalities.As one of the leading security providers in the East Rand, Makopano Risk Solutions recognised the value of Vumacam’s technology and how it can work to make the communities that they protect safer.

At the end of 2019, Makopano started working with Vumacam on a strategic rollout plan to provide an additional layer of protection in the areas they serve.The first cameras are expected to go live by the end of August 2020 and a total of 34 overview cameras and 25 Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras will be operational in the next few months.

“Although implementation of the cameras has just started, we expect to see great results from the technology based on the existing sites where the camera system has a huge impact on reducing levels of crime,” said JJ Venter, CEO of Makopano Risk Solutions.

The two main types of cameras, overview and LPR, will be linked to Makopano Risk Solutions’ control room via a stable fibre connection. The overview cameras use AI software to flag any unusual behaviour, while the LPR cameras generate alerts sent on any vehicles that are captured in a Vehicle of Interest database which may be linked to a crime.

These alerts are sent to a central control room.

Venter said: “Makopano is focused on being the leading community security provider in the East Rand and Vumacam is the market leader with regards to community-based CCTV monitoring and surveillance systems.

“We see strong benefits for our customers coming out of our partnership with Vumacam. We will continue to provide the high level of security the community has come to expect, while Vumacam handle the physical installation of the camera poles and maintenance thereof.”

Vumacam takes privacy and protection of data seriously and has elected to adopt the European GDPR data protection regulations as a standard prior to the promulgation of South Africa’s POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act) in July 2020.

All data is already secured to the same high security standards employed by major banks and insurers. Furthermore, utilising Black Screen Monitoring in the camera network control room essentially removes the need for live viewing of video footage and only displays system-flagged events.

As a result, operators are only viewing short flagged events which they can then respond to by either dismissing the alert if it is not a threat or sending out a patrol vehicle where necessary. The combination of Vumacam’s technologically advanced camera systems and Makopano Risk Solutions’ professional team of security experts will see

Ekurhuleni residents benefit from greater protection in their suburbs, streets and homes as Makopano continues to expand the reach and efficacy of its operations across the East Rand.

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