New cameras will aid crime prevention

With e-tolls implemented in Gauteng yesterday, many South Africans are wary about the impact it would have on them. E-tolls were foremost in the mind of an observant resident when he noticed new cameras, trained on traffic in the Riverside Park area.

Enquiries were first directed to the Mbombela Local Municipality, which in turn referred Nelspruit Post to Ms Renate Scholle, the CID manager of Riverside Park.

She explained that it was a city improvement district, which puts great emphasis on security, “We aim to make this the safest shopping destination in Nelspruit,” she explained.

The new cameras form part of an ongoing expansion of their internal surveillance system as the area is developed. In this case,they are licence-plate recognition cameras, which make up a complete perimeter network.

They are placed at every entrance/exit to Riverside Park and record each passing number plate.

The information is streamed in real time to the control room where trained security personnel also monitor the normal security cameras. This information is extremely helpful as the control room is immediately alerted when a suspect vehicle enters the area.

Scholle says that a variety of security measures implemented in Riverside Park are geared towards proactive intervention to prevent crime.