Over the weekend, Fidelity license plate recognition (LPR) cameras detected the license plate of a suspicious vehicle, which later led to the successful arrest of two suspects and recovering a stolen vehicle.
On March 11, around 09:29, the Fidelity Specialist Intervention Unit received notice that there was Toyota Etios in Soweto that was reported stolen Friday night.
According to the head of marketing and communications for Fidelity Services Group, Charnel Hattingh, the Fidelity Specialist Intervention Team responded to the alert that the stolen vehicle was on the N12, passing Southgate.
The team waited at the Comaro and N12 freeway intersection since the vehicle was moving in that direction and gave chase when the vehicle was spotted.
“The suspects realised they could not get away from the team and pulled over. Fidelity ADT South community operations manager and reaction officers who had also responded to the call for assistance, as well as members of CAP Security, attended to the scene,” said Hattingh.
Both suspects in the vehicle were apprehended and handed over to Alberton SAPS, who arrived on the scene. They arrested the suspects for being in possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Hattingh said LPR cameras are a highly effective crime deterrent. There are several benefits for both the community and security providers as they linked the LPR cameras to a national database of suspicious or stolen vehicles. They watch the system around the clock.
“Should a confirmed suspicious vehicle be stopped in a suburb, the occupants will be questioned and if no evidence is found, monitored until the vehicle leaves the suburb.
“It is a sobering wake-up call for criminals who don’t even realise we have captured them on the LPR system. In this incident, there was evidence of their involvement in car jamming and theft,” Hattingh explained.
Hattingh thanked the role players for making this arrest a success.
