Eye out for criminals
RANDPARK RIDGE – Residents association does what it can to curb crime on the road.
One residents association is doing what it can to fight the rampant crime problem in Randburg.
Randpark Ridge is a thriving suburb with schools, residential areas and businesses aplenty.
The roads that run through the area are busy every day with thousands of commuters using Ysterhout Drive and other thoroughfares as they look to get onto Beyers Naudé Drive, Rabie Street or continue on the road towards Sandton.
Streets that are generally quiet are packed with bumper-to-bumper traffic during peak hours and this situation normally creates opportunities for criminals for smash and grabs and other violent crimes.
To counter this, Randpark Ridge Village Association has installed many cameras on intersections in the area, and are busy upgrading them.
“Our biggest problem at the moment is security at the five entrances to the area,” said association chairperson, Quinton Robbertze.
“We have a number of normal cameras at each entrance that are monitoring cars and we can see their footage from the control room at the security company. We are now busy replacing old cameras with new ANPR [automatic number plate recognition] cameras that automatically read the number plates of passing vehicles and send data to the control room.”
When a number plate linked to a crime is spotted, the system alerts the security company and police.
The cameras are elevated and encased with tamper-proof materials.
“We hope this will reduce crime in the area by helping authorities respond quickly to suspects, as well as prevent the crimes from ever happening.”
