Van Riebeeck Park woman removed from crime group for ‘suspicious behaviour’

THE metro’s practice to take photographs of properties where final notices are delivered, again came under the spotlight this week when a concerned Van Riebeeck Park resident was kicked off a WhatsApp group.

A woman posted images of the person taking photographs of her neighbour’s house onto the group. She was immediately removed for “breaking the rules”.

She posted on social media that she was added again after apologising for her “suspicious behaviour post and accepting group rules”.

In her post on social media she said a gentleman was delivering something that seemed like flyers to houses in her street on Thursday morning.

“He was texting on his phone, inserted the “flyer” into our neighbour’s mailbox, answered a call and then took two to three photographs inside the yard of the house and garage.

“Being a little bit paranoid as a crime victim, also keeping the high crime rate (in this area) in mind, I posted images of the gentlemen on the emergency group. Members confirmed he was delivering final notices, therefore taking pictures.

“I was removed from the emergency group for posting this and breaking the rules. I am left with unanswered questions as to why government is taking pictures of home owners’ property. Is this as per legislation? How are we supposed to know the difference between government officials and criminals taking pictures of someone else’s property? Am I the only one who finds this situation a little bit disturbing?”

In May 2014 a Glen Marais resident also expressed concern about this system.

https://www.citizen.co.za/kempton-express/32620/photos-taken-of-final-notice-houses/

“I am not sure about other residents but I am uncomfortable with the fact that people are taking photos of properties, as one is never sure of their intention or what is mentioned to whom. This is also an ideal cover for criminals who have ill intentions and are searching for their next target,” he said.

“I find it very intrusive that photos are taken of properties without proof that a ratepayer has in fact received a final notice.”

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality at the time said it had implemented an electronic system whereby the delivery of final notices to inform affected consumers of pending disconnection are captured and reported on a smartphone device which automatically downloads to a linked server.

“This is to ensure that at all times visual proof can be supplied to any party querying such delivery and further the validity of disconnection of services, as a notice is proven to have been delivered in the prescribed period and manner as required by legislation.

“The delivery of the final notice is recorded by means of a photo taken of the notice placement in the gate/post box, as well as a photo of the property where the notice has been delivered to. The device, further as a check, records the GPS coordinates of the photo taken and imprints such on the task.

“The metro wishes to allay any concerns of residents as the photos taken are automatically downloaded onto a server via the handset and is not accessible to any member of the public or designated official. The possibility of abuse is kept to the minimum as the only reason for the photos being taken is to ensure proper proof of delivery.”

Any functionality of a phone device is removed and the only communication link available is between the server and the handset.

All contractors in the employment of the metro must have valid ID tags, clearly identifying themselves as contractors employed by Ekurhuleni.

Should any resident have any doubt of the person taking photos, the contractor can be requested to furnish proof of identity and the metro can be contacted for verification.