{"id":655175,"date":"2026-06-22T12:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=655175"},"modified":"2026-06-22T12:01:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:01:27","slug":"drone-takeover-in-one-of-south-africas-biggest-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/655175-drone-takeover-in-one-of-south-africas-biggest-cities.html","title":{"rendered":"Drone takeover in one of South Africa’s biggest cities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the coming year, the City of Cape Town plans to triple the number of annual flights of thermal-imaging drones it uses to track criminal suspects who try to evade police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DA-run city has tested drones for over a decade<\/a>, but its dedicated drone unit was only officially launched on 1 April 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent statement<\/a> from the DA, the city planned to increase its annual drone flight target from 1,000 for the year ending 30 June 2026 to 3,000 the year thereafter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For comparison, the Western Cape’s South African Police Service Air Wing undertook 238 drone flights during the 2024\/25 financial year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They explained that these aerial assets provided real-time intelligence to officers on the ground, enabling faster and more effective interventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to combating crime, the drones can be used in search-and-rescue efforts and operations deemed too high-risk for humans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with the Sunday Times<\/a>, Cape Town Metro Police drone unit head Superintendent Riaan Spreeth explained the value of the technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spreeth said the thermal imaging cameras could detect body heat, enabling law enforcement to find people hiding in bushes or dark areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some drones could also be fitted with attachment mechanisms that allow them to carry specialised equipment, such as life-saving buoys that can be deployed at sea to prevent drowning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the unit currently has just two qualified drone pilots, Spreeth told the Sunday Times that another 12 were being sent for training in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several other municipalities run by the DA, including the Cape Winelands, Overberg, Garden Route, and West Coast District municipalities, are also working with the technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DA said that Cape Town’s success with the technology provided another good reason to expand SAPS control to provincial or local governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We support the South African police with the use of these technologies and stand by to assist them in their essential crime prevention work,” the DA said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“However, a failure to invest in technology and modernisation by the national government has left SAPS unable to operate as a modern police service.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerns over legality of surveillance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Drones are increasingly being used across national, provincial, municipal, and private security operations in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminologist Kholofelo Rakubu has warned that this type of surveillance could cause significant legal headaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Remember issues of privacy and constitutional considerations,” she explained in an interview with Cape Talk. “Any expansion of area surveillance must be accompanied by clear operational policies.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Before a drone can be used anywhere, there are prescripts in place that must be followed,” she said. “There are multiple issues when it comes to where to use drones in particular.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City of Cape Town’s drone programme operates under strict regulatory frameworks, including those of the South African Civil Aviation Authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city maintained that there was no legal obligation in South African law to notify the public about camera surveillance in public spaces, as long as devices were used for legitimate safety enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another one of the city’s frequently promoted tech-forward security projects \u2014 the Eye in the Sky \u2014 has been less successful<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cape Town’s safety and security directorate head Alderman JP Smith recently confirmed that the project was cancelled in August 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith said there was only one service provider that bid for the project. The provider was a joint venture between two companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the venture was dissolved, the bidder became noncompliant with the terms of the contract, leading to its cancellation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Eye in the Sky system used a manned Cessna 337 plane with an advanced Argos II turret fitted with numerous cameras, sensors, and electronics, fitted underneath one of its wings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turret also featured thermal cameras to detect criminals and other potential anomalies, like a fire in the darkness or bad weather. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the programme’s biggest successes was the tracking of suspected poachers operating in Hout Bay from several kilometres away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operation led to the seizure of more than 3,000 crayfish and a high-powered vessel. The entire operation was captured as evidence for prosecution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the coming year, the City of Cape Town plans to triple the number of annual flights of thermal-imaging drones it uses to track criminal suspects who try to evade police.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":655184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[3616,106040,10734,9695,8693,96867,26770,19238,4542,106041],"class_list":["post-655175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","tag-cape-town","tag-cape-town-metro-police","tag-city-of-cape-town","tag-crime","tag-democratic-alliance","tag-drones-2","tag-jp-smith","tag-south-african-police-service-saps","tag-sunday-times","tag-thermal-imaging"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655175"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655175"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":655205,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655175\/revisions\/655205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}