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View from the trenches

There are many great options available to estates for effectively managing their security and operations, but those in the trenches are often limited by body corporate/HOA budget restrictions and misunderstandings, often with residents, about what they should be doing. In this Estate Security Handbook, SMART Security Solutions asked two security and operations managers from large estates for their insight into what they are doing and how important it is for estates to work with their neighbours to maintain security.

We received responses from Rassie Erasmus, Manager: Risk & Security, Eye of Africa, and another operations manager who asked to remain anonymous, so we will call them John.

We began by inquiring whether respondents engage in collaboration or information sharing with other estates, security companies, property managers, or law enforcement. Erasmus notes that engaging in collaborative information sharing with neighbouring communities, CPF structures, and the SAPS is of vital importance. “I do not believe any estate, especially the security operations of estates, can function without sharing information with these parties.”

He adds that the information available from security companies should not be exclusive to one estate, and that a collaborative effort is needed to ensure the safety of residents. Being aware of the situation in the broader environment creates knowledge and enables estates and their partners to identify crime and the criminals’ modus operandi.

John echoes this sentiment, saying, “You must be part of the safety community to make security a success.”

Does AI help?

Of course, apart from community cooperation, technology is an important part of estate security operations. Today, that technology undoubtedly includes AI, and John notes that their estate makes use of intelligent features, from line crossing functionality to LPR (licence plate recognition) to ensure the security of residents and assets.

Erasmus believes that AI in video analytics is the way to go. “The identification of the human figure, for example, minimises false alarms and focuses the attention of control room personnel on those that warrant positive attention. AI functionalities increase daily, and the employment of services which keep abreast of these developments is critical.”

Some of the AI functionality he currently uses includes human identification, such as crawling, falling, hand and arms raised, and people on their hands and knees; identification of an animal or bird, wind, spiders or fire is also employed. “We use onsite servers, as the location of my estate could leave us in the dark for extended periods with cut fibre cables. I cannot take the risk of being without analytical capabilities. Our platform and AI provider (Cathexis) has definitely made our analytics worthwhile and continues to meet our evolving requirements.

An eye in the sky

As seen in other articles in this issue, the potential use of drones and the various service models have changed over time, meaning there are use cases where drones can be deployed on estates. Of course, the costs of an estate running its own drone service are still prohibitive.

John’s estate does not currently make use of drones, primarily because of the expense involved. However, they acknowledge that drones can make it easier to patrol long perimeters and cover open areas, as well as search for and track intruders if they make it into the estate (or in the surrounding areas). On the other hand, they also note that drones can be spotted quite easily (or heard), and criminals can shoot at them in an attempt to damage or destroy the drone.

Erasmus does use a drone to supplement his estate’s security operations. “Drone use has been exponential,” he says. “I cannot see an environment that cannot benefit from it. Perimeter security, and in my case, specifically the extended environment beyond my perimeter, uses our drone extensively. The benefits are faster response times, accurate threat identification via thermal imaging, and reaction officer guidance.”

There are, naturally, some concerns, such as ensuring the privacy of residents is maintained, as well as the regulations governing automated flights. The estate’s drone had to go through an extensive period of CAA approval, which was granted after about 24 months. “Our drone is currently operated and maintained by 24/7 Drone Force under the guidance of Michael Lever. The pilots are remote pilots who are BVLOS rated.”

Cybersecurity and compliance

Both respondents view cybersecurity as a serious subject, and Erasmus notes that it is outsourced and maintained by the estate’s registered providers. The access control provider, for example, maintains all its cybersecurity and POPIA certifications, which are checked annually when the service-level agreement (SLA) is renewed.

The estates in question are also compliant with POPIA and CSOS rules and foresee no challenges going forward as their security operations are designed to be compliant from the outset.

One of the challenges in many estates, from both the estate and residents, is the use of WhatsApp and apps for communications and security notifications. Although this is not illegal, it can cause problems because some people struggle to understand that these online groups are intended for estate business and the welfare of all parties involved. This applies especially to WhatsApp groups, which many see as part of their social media entertainment processes.

Erasmus warns that we should never confuse estate management, access control and WhatsApp groups. “Social media is there for that purpose, and groups within that should comply with the cybersecurity legislation that governs the same. While estate management and access control apps, which include visitor management, are two different items, several providers have combined these functionalities to great effect.

“I am of the personal opinion that internal groups created for security operations should be carefully considered, and the security requirements for these groups carefully evaluated. On a personal note, I use Telegram for these functions.”

John echoes this sentiment, noting their estate has an app, which the developer is currently updating to include new functionality. They also use WhatsApp, but only for one-way communication; people cannot reply to the group.

Challenges over the next year

Our final enquiry to our estate respondents was what challenges they expect to encounter in the security field over the coming year. John states that the estate is currently 7 years incident-free, which is an achievement of note. However, there are always headaches with security due to the non-compliance of residents and the influx of foreigners into the estate. Possible hijackings are also a significant risk that security operations focus on.

For Erasmus, the threat of misguided legislation remains significant. Luckily, Johannesburg’s effort to limit the use of CCTV for safeguarding residents has been abandoned (for now), but there are continually proposed laws to restrict firearms that hinder private security’s capacity to defend civilians against well-armed criminal opponents.

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