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Keeping students, staff and communities safe

South African schools are grappling with growing security concerns, making it imperative for them to have reliable surveillance systems in place. To address this, Vumacam, a local tech company, is offering cutting-edge security solutions aimed at protecting students, teachers, and the wider community.

Vumacam’s SafeCity Network, the company’s largest camera network in Gauteng, serves as an extra layer of defence in public spaces. The network is accessible to security partners, allowing them to anticipate potential threats before they reach the gates of the properties they protect. Vumacam is using SafeCity cameras with license plate recognition technology, to monitor vehicles in under-protected areas. If a flagged vehicle, linked to a crime (logged on the SAPS VOI database), is detected, an alert is sent to security partners and law enforcement.

Vumacam’s CCTV systems are fully compliant with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, ensuring that sensitive personal data is protected, and not linked to individuals.

Vumacam has also developed the Proof Platform, a tool that streamlines the management of security footage for operators. The platform enables the monitoring of multiple sites from a central location, providing a 360-degree view of on-ground activities and allows for faster response times in the case of incidents. The platform can also integrate data from various systems, including alarms, sensors, analytics, perimeter detection and access control.

In 2020, Vumacam was approached by a security provider, for a group of five schools in Johannesburg, to upgrade their analogue camera system. The upgrade process was challenging, but the feedback from parents and teachers about the new CCTV security measures has been overwhelmingly positive. The technology-aided security measures have been effective in mitigating new security threats, such as the recent rise in kidnappings.

The Department of Education and BACSA are engaged in a programme to enhance the security of 40 schools in under-protected areas in South Africa, and Vumacam has been appointed to facilitate the installation of cameras at these schools. Twelve schools have already been equipped with cameras and monitoring systems, and the installation teams are working to complete twenty-five schools by 24 February.

The camera poles consist of one overview camera and two license plate recognition cameras to monitor the main drop-off area and road in front of the schools. SafeCity partners will do the monitoring. Project updates will be available on the www.safecity.community news feed.

This development brings the SafeCity initiative closer to its goal of providing safe and secure environments for communities in South Africa. The SafeCity initiative is grateful for the support of our SafeCity Partners in creating a safer South Africa, one city at a time. Schools looking to enhance the security of their premises can turn to Vumacam for advanced solutions to keep their students and staff safe. For more information, visit the official SafeCity website at www.safecity.community.

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