Gauteng uses drones and panic buttons to combat crime

The Gauteng Treasury says it will spend millions of rands to combat crime in the province.

MEC for Finance in the province, Jacob Mamabolo, presented the province’s medium-term budget policy statement on Thursday (24 November), stating that the treasury has allocated R173 million for this goal in the most recent fiscal year.

He stated that the money would be used to combat crime, corruption, vandalism, and lawlessness in the province.

“We are very confident that this money will be well spent in the fight against crime,” he said.

Specifically, he said that the money would be used for:

• The recruitment of peace wardens for the province;
• The procurement of 10 drones;
• The procurement of 50 vehicles; and
• The procurement of 500,000 panic buttons.

“We must say to the criminals…their days are numbered. The drones will be moving around, the panic buttons will be checking them, we are going to give the criminals a run in this province, and we’re putting our money where our mouth is,” he said.

The use of drones to assist police in the country has gained traction, with the South African Police Service announcing in June that it was also looking to acquire the technology to aid in crime fighting.

Bheki Cele, the police minister at the time, stated that a total of 166 drones would be purchased in three phases, with the technology set to be implemented across its operations.

The drones are specifically being procured for use in:

• Provincial Operational Command Centres;
• District Operational Command Centres;
• The Safer City Projects;
• Satellite drone units serving various police stations;
• The utilisation of drones in rural safety plans.

Private security companies in South Africa have already used drones for anti-crime initiatives for several years, particularly in up-market complexes and estates where it can be difficult to track criminals on the ground, as crime has escalated over the years – and continues to escalate.

The crime wave

According to the most recent crime statistics presented by Cele on Wednesday (23 November), police are having little success in stemming the rising tide of crime in South Africa, particularly violent crime.

Crime rates in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province, are typically far higher than the rest of the country in terms of sheer numbers, but fall somewhere in the middle in terms of population.

However, the portfolio committee on police expressed concern about the figures, noting that levels of violent crime in South Africa have increased so rapidly.

The increase in sexual offences of 11%, murder of 13%, and attempted sexual offences of 34% is concerning and indicates a failure to address these types of crime.

“The statistics received by the committee continue to paint a grim picture for the fight against crime in the country,” it said.

“The committee’s argument is that a collaboration between the police and the community is the only basis on which the fight can be won. Also, the enhancement of both the detectives and crime intelligence environments will add the necessary energy and expertise in the fight against crime,” said committee chair, Tina Joemat-Pettersson.