The Gauteng provincial government (GPG) has reported a “substantial impact” on criminal activities across the province has been achieved 100 days into the rollout of its surveillance project, which has been leveraging Vumacam SafeCity cameras.

Since its inception in February, the project has yielded an average 10% monthly increase in interceptions, impounded vehicles and arrests from February to May.

The surveillance system has been instrumental in dispatching vehicles to investigate crimes in progress a total of 2 056 times, resulting in a 10.65% intervention rate. The proactive approach has targeted suspects and vehicles involved in a range of criminal activities, including theft, armed robbery, fraud and public violence.

"This project's success is extremely encouraging. The capture of individuals engaged in criminal activities such as armed robbery, vehicle hijackings, assault, robbery and fraud demonstrates the tangible impact of this initiative. We commend all those involved in intercepting the criminals detected through this technology," Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said.

The successful interceptions are attributed to the collaborative efforts of various law enforcement entities, including the South African Police Service (Saps), undercover Saps units, traffic officers and private security companies.

"Ongoing training in the GPG monitoring room has contributed to increased successes week-on-week. The alerts from Vumacam SafeCity cameras have led to the interception of criminals and vehicles involved in criminal activities, thereby preventing further crimes from occurring.

“Our work with GPG is testament to the power of technology to unlock the crime-fighting potential of public/private partnerships," Vumacam chief commercial officer Michael Varney said on May 20.

With this incremental success, and as further training, technology enhancements and agility in collaboration continues to build, Vumacam said that it believed that the use of its SafeCity network would yield further positive results to turn the tide on crime in areas of operation.