South African safety and security authorities and metropolitan councils need to pick up the pace of their roll-out of closed circuit television (CCTV) infrastructure for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, urges Alan Russell, MD of Illuder, a manufacturer and distributor of CCTV cameras.
Russell says the country has a long way to go before it meets its goal of installing 60 000 CCTV cameras at host cities and stadiums. This is in line with commitments made by the Fifa World Cup Organising Committee. Two of Illuder's undisclosed clients have been awarded government tenders to deploy the cameras for 2010.
Russell notes: “Wherever metros have deployed CCTV cameras, they have found them to be extremely effective as part of a crime-fighting strategy. Cape Town and Johannesburg have both had some CCTV coverage of their CBDs for a number of years, and report that these cameras have helped to bring crime down wherever they are present.”
CCTV technology can be rolled-out at a faster rate than police officers can be trained, Russell says. The technology acts as an immediate security mechanism for 2010, as SA is faced with a police shortfall, he adds.
Big investment
South Africa's metropolitan councils have said they will spend tens of millions of rands on CCTV infrastructure in preparation for 2010. The City of Cape Town plans to spend R10 million on installing 24-hour CCTV cameras along the Grand Parade and the fan mile, for the World Cup next year, and another R2 million addressing gaps in the current CCTV of the CBD.
The City of Johannesburg recently deployed a CCTV control centre, which is part of an inner-city surveillance system worth R42 million. The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality has also invested in CCTV surveillance as part of its integrated security system.
Wesleigh Pieters, Illuder marketing manager, says SA needs to take the technology seriously: “In past soccer events such as in Ellis Park, we had experienced stampedes on the soccer fields. CCTV cameras aim to prevent such incidents. One of the main aspects of CCTV technology is that it's very effective to pinpoint crimes, and in the context of the World Cup, it can control the crowd.”
Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, says the priority at the moment is the construction of the stadiums, before mass deployment of the CCTV cameras begins. Goldstuck agrees with Pieters that the technology is vital for the 2010 World Cup: “If you've got well-trained officers monitoring the cameras and understanding how to use the technology, it can be very effective. The latest technology uses facial recognition to isolate troublemakers and spot criminal activity. The Business Against Crime relies heavily on this technology. CCTV cameras connected through WiMax/WiFi are not yet well evolved in SA, but it's coming. In the near-future, the cameras will be linked to local access points, which are linked to a stronger high-speed link sent to a control station.”
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