Vumacam busting criminals in South Africa
The Vumacam security camera system has helped deter crime in hotspots and has led to the interception of several criminals involved in crimes like traffic light tampering, cable theft, and hi-jacking.
Speaking to 702, Vumacam chief commercial officer Michael Varney says the system uses artificial intelligence to detect unusual activity and report it to private security companies and public law enforcement agencies.
Varney said the company’s recent densification of its network at crime hotspots in Gauteng has paid off and helped flush criminals out of such areas.
“Our network has been densified in specific areas. As soon as the network goes live, you then see the crime move out of the area,” he said.
“Although we are not everywhere, our plan is to continue to densify our network across crime hotspots specifically. We are definitely seeing the prevention of crime and the interception of a lot of the criminals that have been involved.”
He explained that Vumacam uses artificial intelligence through an analytic applied to its camera feeds, which will identify and notify security and law enforcement players of unusual behaviour around traffic lights.
“If you have people loitering around a traffic light for longer than would be normal for a pedestrian to be waiting to cross the road, for instance, an alert is created,” said Varney.
“That alert presents itself in both private security control rooms as well as the public sector. Depending on the standard operating procedure, we are able to dispatch the closest vehicle in the area to go see what is happening.”
Varney explained that the system works as a deterrent to crime and isn’t a “full silver bullet” in the fight against crime.
He said some incidents identified by the system could simply be a local individual who wants to direct traffic when a light is out to earn some money.
“Then, there are more serious organised syndicates that commit hi-jacking crimes,” said Varney.
“Our system is able to quickly detect tampering or cable theft, which takes a bit longer than tampering.”
He described Vumacam as a “rapid detection” system which provides automated dispatch notifications to private security and public law enforcement.
“The quicker that we can get the data to the control rooms to dispatch the necessary vehicles assists in reducing response times,” said Varney.
In February 2024, Vumacam announced that it had partnered with the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) to provide law enforcement in the province with access to its extensive camera network and crime-fighting technologies.
The agreement gave the GPG immediate access to a network of more than 6,000 Vumacam cameras in Gauteng and access to partner cameras across the country.
The company said it has more than 5,000 partner cameras established nationwide, ensuring that an alert is triggered when the cameras see any vehicle involved in criminal activity in another province in Gauteng.
The partnership with GPG builds on the success of Vumacam’s existing collaborations with the public sector, such as the Integrated Intelligence Operations Centre, where it works with the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department.
Vumacam said the partnership had seen more than 400 interceptions monthly across Gauteng.
“As we continue to foster collaboration to fight crime between the private and public sector through technology, we continue to invest in and grow our infrastructure and platform,” said Vumacam CEO Ricky Croock.
“We believe we can help South Africa become a safer place through the power of video and technology, delivered by a centralised platform that connects disparate operators, and that will become the de-facto standard in all control rooms.”