THE Glen An-Hills Neighbourhood Watch has welcomed the installation of its first AI camera on Glen Anil Street.
Earlier last year, the watch had begun a fundraising programme in the hopes of using technology to aid the fight against crime.
In recent months, several robbery cases have been reported in the area, many of which involved pedestrians.
Chairperson of the watch Neil Olivier explained that the camera is the first of 16 they hope to install at strategic positions in the Glen Hills and Glen Anil areas – as funding allows.
“This is the culmination of a long-term project that we, as a neighbourhood watch, undertook, and it has been fully funded by the community. I must thank both Avi Pillay, our vice-chairperson, and Chris Perold, our Exco member, for driving this project and making it a success. Without them, this would not be possible. We hope this overview camera will fill in the gaps in the area we’ve identified,” he said.
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His comments were echoed by Avi Pillay, the vice-chairperson of the watch.
“I think the camera helps the watch in putting resources in the right place. Another positive to come out of this project is that we have installed the camera ourselves. I have upskilled myself and gotten an installer and monitoring certification that focuses on operation and maintenance of our own neighbourhood watch network. As Neil mentioned, we have a number of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras in the area, but with this high-definition camera, we hope to fill those gaps to give security companies additional eyes on the ground,” he said.
Chris Perold, a member of the Glen An-Hills Neighbourhood Watch’s Executive Committee, thanked the community for their support for the project.
“This camera was made possible by residents’ contributions; in fact, it was solely funded by them. To have our vice-chair and chair using their technical expertise to install the first of several cameras bodes well for the future of the project. We also want to let residents know that we are open to suggestions if they feel a specific site needs attention. Reach out to us and get involved as we want community input and participation,” he said.
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If you would like to get involved with the watch or contribute to the camera project, visit the Glen An-Hills Neighbourhood Watch Facebook page or visit www.glenanhillsnhw.co.za.
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