eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda conducted an inspection of the city’s Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera control room in December to learn how the cameras would be used to tackle crime in the Durban CBD. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/ Independent Newspapers
Durban — Cautious optimism has greeted the approval for the roll-out of the smart policing system in eThekwini Metro, with hopes that it will help reduce the rampant crime experienced in many parts of the city.
The system was first discussed and approved at the Executive Committee meeting two weeks ago before getting the council nod last week.
Deputy City manager Musa Gumede said the system would cost more than R250 000 and be rolled out over a three-year period, starting this year.
“Because it has many elements in it, the effects of the system will start to be visible at least within six months,” he said.
According to the municipality, the system will improve policing performance and effectiveness and contain costs that are attached to policing, which include glaring staff shortages that compel the unit to operate on overtime.
Some of the challenges that have been cited by the council when it comes to law enforcement in the past include:
The city believes that when fully operational the system will eliminate error in the issuing of manual fines, ensure the efficient prosecution of offenders and generate revenue in the process, and enable the disaster management centre to operate optimally.
The functioning of the disaster management centre came into focus recently when it emerged that an employee was caught damaging the Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV). The 30-year-old was caught in a multi-disciplinary sting operation that included metro police, the City Integrity and Investigation Unit (CIIU) and the SAPS.
The suspect was caught damaging the newly upgraded cables that link servers and feeds to the CCTV cameras, which are linked to the City’s Emergency Service Control Room.
According to the statement from the municipality, a criminal case has been opened against the suspect for theft, sabotage and vandalism of municipal infrastructure. The employee, who is one of the City’s CCTV camera operators, was also suspended immediately.
Disaster Management and Emergency Services Unit head Vincent Ngubane said the City would not hesitate to arrest anyone who tampered with and sabotaged municipal infrastructure, such as CCTV cameras, even if it’s one of their own. Repairing damaged cameras, he said, was extremely costly and a major setback in the fight against crime.
IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi said they had endorsed the roll-out of the system because they believed that, if properly rolled out, it would help drastically reduce the crime in the city. He noted how some cases took a while to solve because of inadequate policing.
“Look at how long it has taken to arrest suspects in the murder of Kiernan Forbes; perhaps if there had been such technology, such an incident and many other cases could have been resolved.
“So it is in that spirit that we supported the implementation of the project,” said Nkosi.
He stressed though that the arrest of a staff member for tampering with equipment was a reminder that constant monitoring was crucial in ensuring an efficiently run municipality.
eThekwini DA leader Thabani Mthethwa said the move to install the system was a welcome one because the city had become a haven for criminals.
He cited dilapidated buildings as a source of criminal activity, which needed to be cleaned up to ensure that the city appealed to possible investors.
Independent on Saturday