Criminals and syndicates often use vehicles when they target a community as this allows them to quickly enter the area, commit a crime and get out again. This is why it is important for any community wanting to safeguard themselves to take note of the vehicles driving around in the area that do not belong there. After a positive response from the residents of Bloemfontein and the local CPF, Fidelity ADT started its initial Licence Plate Recognition camera roll out in Universitas Ridge.
“A Licence Plate Recognition system is an ideal tool as it monitors all vehicles entering the area and flags those confirmed as stolen or wanted by the SAPS. These are then sent through to a dedicated Monitoring & Control Centre and checked against various databases. If a match occurs the SAPS in the area are immediately notified,” says Neil Erasmus, Outlying Community Development Manager for Fidelity ADT. In Bloemfontein we work very closely with the Bloemfontein Flying Squad and have worked hard to foster a collaborative partnership between the local CPF, flying squad and Fidelity ADT.
Erasmus says a strong LPR network acts as a quick and convenient early warning system for authorities and also facilitates the tracking of trends to pre-empt criminal activities by monitoring statistics to find patterns of potential criminal behaviour.
Fidelity ADT first invested in LPR Technology to create heightened security visibility for the community of Universitas Ridge. With cameras situated at the two entrances to Universitas Ridge at the corner of Wynand Mouton Drive & Koos van der Walt Avenue, and the corner of Jac van Rhyn Road & Nelson Mandela Drive. “The advanced analytics provide information on vehicles of interest based on irregular behaviour which we can then investigate,” explains Erasmus.
Within a few weeks after their installation the cameras detected a vehicle which had been listed as stolen in Silverton, Pretoria. It was linked to earlier serious incidences and was successfully retrieved by the Bloemfontein Flying Squad. “The system works in such a way that our expanding network of cameras can actively track vehicles, even between remote locations, as long as they are listed on the SAPS database allowing us to proactively target criminals.”
“Since the cameras were installed we have captured over 485 000 licence plates which have been verified against the SAPS database. With this many vehicles being scanned we are confident that this solution will continue to drive down crime in the region. We have rolled out similar projects in areas around Gauteng with excellent results. Criminals are becoming more and more sophisticated and this kind of technology is essential to stay one step ahead,” he concludes.
Fidelity ADT confirmed in 2018 they will be extending the LPR camera infrastructure to include more areas in Bloemfontein in order to bolster security efforts in the area.
ENDS