NELSPRUIT – Riverside Park is leaps and bounds ahead of other business districts in the country. This statement by leading security technology firm, Reditron, refers to the precinct’s recent deployment of state-of-the-art technology to combat crime.
With four shopping malls, 33 motor dealerships, a casino and three hotels, among others, Riverside Park represents a significant segment of the capital city’s economy. In addition thousands of vehicles travel through the precinct monthly via the R40 motorway and 220 families reside within its boundaries. Ensuring a safe environment in which to live, work, shop and play has always been central to the model of this City Improvement District (CID), attested by the recent multimillion- rand investment in surveillance technology.
“Whether you drive through the precinct, work or shop there, you can be sure that someone is watching you,” says Reditron’s national sales manager, Mr Rory Webber. His company is the local distributor of the German technology installed throughout the four square kilometres of the CID zone. State-of-the-art software provided by the European firm, SeeTec, ensures that J&M Security, contracted to secure the CID, can act as the proverbial Big Brother. From a highly-secure control room, operators have a bird’s eye view of public spaces, and can immediately raise the alarm when any suspicious behaviour is observed via any of the surveillance cameras. Ms Renate Scholle, Riverside Park CID manager, says J&M was visionary in its choice of surveillance infrastructure, which includes various kinds of cameras streaming through a scalable Wi-Fi network.
The whole system, in fact, is very flexible, allowing for a seamless expansion to accommodate new developments and client needs, according to SeeTec director Mr Kaj Svenningson.
Combatting crime and serving the community
Theft from motor vehicles comprises 65 per cent of all crime in the district, according to Scholle. With 80 per cent of surveillance work now performed by technology, security personnel are able to prioritise their responses to incidents. Operators are also able to record, monitor and retrieve video data related to any incident.
A licence-plate recognition system enables the control room to automatically record all vehicles passing through the area, and to flag suspicious vehicles and licence- plate numbers linked to known suspects on the SAPS database. Because video footage is stored in the system and therefore easily accessible, Riverside Park was able to provide the public and SAPS on numerous occasions with detailed coverage of traffic accidents, which occurred within the CID boundaries.
Asked how the return on investment (ROI) for this multimillion-rand project will be calculated, Scholle responded that phase one of the project had already effected a 25 per cent drop in overall crime in the precinct.
Among recent successes of the surveillance system and the new software was the provision of data accurate enough to open cases with SAPS, which promptly led to one arrest. As the first to make use of this kind of technology in South Africa, Riverside Park sets the example on how business can take action to keep customers and staff safe.
Big Brother -The LPR technology behind Riverside Park’s road surveillance system
• Germany-based SeeTec offers a powerful, fully-integrated software solution for the automatic recognition of number plates. Kaj Svenningson, on a visit to Nelspruit last week, responded that they were impressed with the way Riverside Park applied the technology.
• The SeeTec LPR module is integrated with a video surveillance systems.
• J&M operators have been trained in using the system, which is user-friendly and easily adaptable to specific needs.
• For perfect results, special analogue- shutter cameras are supported via video encoders. With the LPR module running on a server, up to eight lanes of traffic can be handled.
• A range of management features are included such as organising number plates in lists or an electronic ticket- handling system.
• The classic field of application for the SeeTec LPR module is the management of gateways and car parks, but there are many applications beyond security.
• In Europe the LPR module is used by a car-rental company to document the exact time when leased cars are returned.
• Companies also use it for marketing purposes – shopping centres or theme parks often use it to collect data about regional traffic sources to optimise their marketing campaigns.
• Other possible local applications, says Reditron’s Mr Rory Webber, could include its use at fuel stations and for automated control of booms and gates and for record-keeping of deliveries.
