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Surveillance Crime has changed the way we live our lives in South Africa! Your average middle class suburb has taken on prison-like proportions to try to keep the baddies out. People are doing as much as they can to protect themselves and their belongings. But there are areas where the prevention of crime should reside in the hands of the relevant authorities. However, that just does not seem to be happening. We read about the results every day: The loss of skilled personnel to other countries, the loss of investment. The tourist trade is not doing as well as it could, and then, of course, there is the terrible personal loss. Already retail stores, industries, government offices and normal business throughout the country, use surveillance cameras to fight crime, and the results are very encouraging. Now Cape Town is bringing surveillance to the city streets. In Touch speaks to John Penberthy of Business Against Crime: "Our research has shown us that the most expensive aspect to law enforcement is the use of manpower. Business Against Crime is working with the national crime prevention strategy and we wanted to make an important contribution. We therefore tried to find ways in which we could relieve the kind of pressures that exist in manpower deployment. Now the use of cameras therefore will provide us with a lot of economies in that area." Thys Le Grange, Costing & Design Engineer at Gray Security Services, discusses the choice of the system: "One of the most important aspects that we considered in our design is to make absolutely sure that we have the best possible picture in terms of quality, and also be able to identify or recognise a human being in any position within the coverage of the cameras."
Lynn Bouchier of Sensormatic SA tells us more: "These cameras are fully programmable, they can pan, tilt, zoom, follow a person, acquire target within a second. The cameras are powerful enough to zoom in to a person's face and see their features."
So you have a technologically advanced camera recording all the action, and a team of operators in a control room with all they could possibly need, but how do you get the two together?
John Penberthy continues: "Our designer, Thys le Grange has taken the trouble here to ensure that we are going to be able to track not only individuals but incidents through a series of processes." With Telkom's connectivity, the cameras become a digital network, allowing security personnel to follow a suspect as he moves from one area of the city to another.
The bottom line is, it appears that the streets of Cape Town are going to be a lot safer, which means more tourists, more business, and that in turn creates more employment, more money being circulated within the city centre. It just takes one initiative to get the ball rolling. The technology does not stop there. Digital Video recorders can be introduced to the system and this improves the quality and effectiveness of the final product immeasurably.
So what about your right to privacy? Well with the systems being monitored by law enforcement agencies, it is in your interest that they are there. Also if you are out in public doing something that no one else should be seeing, then it is highly likely to be illegal, or something you should be doing in private. But the Orwellian scenario could come into play if these systems fall under the control of authorities that want more than their fair share of control. For now, enjoy the fact that some people are doing something, with the aid of technology, to make your life safer and better.
Contacts
Thys Le Grange, Costing & Design Engineer
Lyn Boucher
Danie Blom, Manager Product Development |
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Created and maintained by Intekom works Copyright © 1998 Intekom |
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Contents and images © 1998 All rights reserved |
In order to be effective in public places, the cameras have to be robust, discreet and able to zoom in and track a possible suspect, and all this from a remote location.
The cameras are a far cry from your average domestic variety. They are able to zoom into twelve times magnification, using the camera lens, plus additional digital zoom abilities. All camera movements - pan, tilt and zoom, can be controlled from a remote position.
Danie Blom of Telkom explains: "Telkom provides the enabling technology that connects control room with the all the cameras, in others words the optical fibre and the high level transmission equipment. That provides you with the video, a data and a voice interface at both ends."
Says John Penberthy: "The current system is a twelve camera pilot system which we hope will show us what we need to know about lighting systems, about high and low level surveillance and recognition. What is intended in the CBD of Cape Town is to expand to somewhere between 75 and 120 camera outlets. In addition we will have a number of alarm area outlets in the main tourist areas where people will be able to press alarm buttons and become immediately activated and on view. That is a system that we wish to put in almost immediately. We wish to overlay the system with what is already in existence in the Waterfront, and that which Metrorail intends for the harbour. What is significant is that we have started the control centre with a view that we are going to have something like 2,500 inputs stretching from town to the mountains."
The new, digital format not only allows for much higher quality visuals, but it also means that data can be recalled and manipulated far more efficiently. To prevent unauthorised access, both the record machines and the camera movement controllers can only be accessed by keying in secure pin codes. Areas under surveillance can also be 'hot-zoned' and linked to the movement detector software of the camera. The second there is movement in the hot zone, the camera will track the movement and simultaneously trigger the system to begin recording. It could even be programmed to set off a silent alarm as well. Because the cameras can be networked, other cameras in the area can also be programmed to point to the same place, observing every aspect of the suspect's actions. Graphic enhancement software can also be used to sharpen the image to allow for more accurate identification. And once criminals become aware that their every move, every facial feature, can be observed and recorded by the city's surveillance system, it's likely that they will we far less willing to commit crimes knowing they are being caught red handed.