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The role of CCTV in Cape Town’s successful security strategy

Cape Town has made significant strides in combating crime in the city and outlying regions. The results are due to a concerted effort by the municipal government to deliver an integrated safety and security solution.

Alderman J. P. Smith, Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety & Security.

While security is an integrated solution involving people, processes and technology, a large part of the successful Cape Town solution involves surveillance cameras, belonging to both the city and private businesses. Alderman JP Smith has been involved in the security of the city for a number of years and was the driving force behind many of the programmes within the project.

At iLegal 2016, Alderman JP Smith will discuss the role of CCTV cameras in driving down the crime statistics in Cape Town. CCTV is by no means the only solution in use in the city, but by integrating the various aspects of security – including CCTV – the solution as a whole has delivered remarkable success unmatched in any other city in South Africa.

One of the pillars of Cape Town’s fight against organised crime is partnerships, not only between various government departments, but also with private companies and individuals who work together to make their city safer. One of the technologies Cape Town uses successfully is Licence Plate Recognition (LPR). Those who attended Hi-Tech Security Solutions’ Retail Risk Conference, held in September 2015, will remember two presentations dealing with the LPR systems installed in the Cape.

Bernard Schüfer, chair of the LPR User Group and the Camps Bay Community Police Forum, and Mike Voortman, MD of Verifier and chairman of the Constantia Valley Watches Association as well as the Wynberg Sector 4 CPF discussed the measures put in place to coordinate LPR in various districts of the city and the successes achieved. A brief review is online at www.securitysa.com/8481a

Smith built the city’s security programme based on five pillars. Put simply, these are resources, resourcing, training, partnerships and technology. More information on the five pillars can be found at www.securitysa.com/8533a

Be sure not to miss the biggest success story against crime in South Africa.

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