Bad news for Gauteng criminals

An aircraft equipped with advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) technology is being deployed to combat crime in Gauteng this festive season, Rapport reports.

Starting on Wednesday, 11 December 2024, an ISR-equipped Cessna Caravan has been flying at irregular intervals, primarily at night, to monitor for and provide information on all manner of criminal activity.

Specific areas of focus will include illegal mining activity and vandalism of the main fuel supply line from KwaZulu-Natal.

However, the aircraft will also be used to monitor and respond to business crimes and general incidents reported by the public through 10111.

The system’s big weapon is an Argos-II airborne observation system, a 16-inch class stabilised sensor turret that incorporates numerous sensors and electronics in a single unit, fitted to the bottom of its fuselage.

The turret includes multiple infrared high-definition cameras to spot criminals and other key indicators of unusual activity like fires in the dark and in bad weather.

The operation is being coordinated by Bidvest Protea Coin, which had received a request from its clients to develop an extraordinary solution for combatting crime during the festive season.

Incomar is supplying the Caravan and a pilot, while FNB, Nedbank, and Engen are sponsoring the fuel and the pilot’s pay.

In addition to the pilot, the aircraft is manned by a technician to control the cameras, as well as a police officer and Bidvest responder to communicate with teams on the ground.

Bidvest Protea Coin’s operational head, Waal de Waal, told Rapport that the deputy national commissioner of the police, General Shadrack Sibiya, had joined a flight to see how the system worked and “immediately” supported the effort.

Taking a cue from Cape Town

Private security companies like Bidvest have been using ISR technology in South Africa for several years.

However, it has only been applied to fixed-wing aircraft relatively recently.

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) officially launched its Argos II-equipped “Eye-in-the-Sky” plane in February 2024 after having tested the system in crime prevention operations and in assisting fire services in the Table Mountain fires of 2021.

It forms part of the CoCT Safety and Security Directorate’s information-gathering systems to support situational awareness for police officers responding to incidents and for collecting aerial imagery in various enforcement operations.

Cape Town uses its Eye-in-the-Sky to combat poaching, land invasions, vegetation fires, illegal street racing, responding to gang incidents, and pursuing stolen or hijacked vehicles.  

Instead of the Caravan used by the privately funded Gauteng project, the CoCT fitted its Argos-II underneath the left wing of a Cessna 337.

Mayoral committee member for safety and security, Alderman JP Smith, likened the system to a “very powerful flying CCTV camera” that can be anywhere in the city quickly.

“The ISR technology is a versatile tool, as the fixed-wing aircraft can cover larger geographical areas, stay in the air for longer periods doing low-level reconnaissance flights and will be less weather dependent than drones,” said Smith.

“The aircraft will also assist with improving rapid response time by officers during planned operations as precise information can be relayed.”

Smith said the technology’s use would not be limited to the enforcement environment but could also help with monitoring high-voltage lines and vandalism of vital infrastructure, as well as researching coastal impacts and biodiversity-related issues.