“The 24/7 security officers in the two vehicles patrolling the streets of Central and the operators in the control room watching the activities on the 50 of the cameras we’ve installed here know exactly what they are looking for.”
These are the words of Stephen Moore of Citywide Security who advises the board of the Central Special Ratings Ara (SRA) on security improvements in Central.
“The cameras are able to track each and every vehicle or person, and if there is any suspicious behaviour, the security vehicles are immediately despatc“The 24/7 security officers in the two vehicles patrolling the streets of Central and the operators in the control room watching the activities on the 50 of the cameras we’ve installed here know exactly what they are looking for.”
These are the words of Stephen Moore of Citywide Security who advises the board of the Central Special Ratings Ara (SRA) on security improvements in Central.
“The cameras are able to track each and every vehicle or person, and if there is any suspicious behaviour, the security vehicles are immediately despatched to investigate, one with an onboard camera to capture any process going down,” Moore explains. “We also have an excellent relationship with the Metro Police and SAPS Humewood, which provides us with crime stats on a weekly basis so that we can plan where to focus.”
Safety and security and clean streets are essential to neighbourhood improvement and both are being prioritised by the Central SRA. Ratepayers in Central agreed to pay an extra amount on their rates and taxes to uplift this historic city neighbourhood. Eighty five percent of the extra amount is invested in security.
In August 2020 when the Central SRA first started investing in security, they were experiencing high crime levels, with residents regularly reporting theft out of motor vehicles and homes, muggings and vagrancy. A year later the residents reports have, to a large degree, changed to complaints about loud music or people parking their cars incorrectly or dumping rubbish on the streets.
“We’ve really been able to get moving with our security and cleanliness drive ever since the municipality signed the special rates agreement with us on 15 February this year,” says businessman and SRA Chair, Dave Edwards. “The additional rates are collected by the municipality, then paid over to the Central SRA non-profit company that managed the Central SRA. We have a five-year improvement plan and we work closely with the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), the municipality, Metro Police, SAPS, property owners, businesses and Nelson Mandela University as many of its students live in Central and its Bird Street Campus is situated here.”
The Central SRA is steered by a board of volunteer directors appointed by the property owners. They have one full-time staff member, Hayley Stirk, who manages the day-to-day operations from their office in Central.
Stirk says: “There has been an absolute turnaround and I experience it firsthand. When issues are picked up or reported they get actioned straightaway.”
“We might get a report from a concerned resident about a disturbance but the camera footage shows it’s a couple of students walking up the road making a lot of noise,” Moore elaborates. “But it might not be innocent; it might be someone getting attacked or goods stolen from their home. We’ve had incidents of clothing being stolen and we then get a description and check our 50 cameras for anyone wearing the clothing. In the last month we picked up four guys this way, and we then hand them over to SAPS.”
Despite the notable decrease in crime in Central since the security systems have been implemented, there is a lingering perception that Central is still not safe. “Part of the problem is that a blanket area description is applied to Central, including the CBD and Govan Mbeki Ave with a lot of shops and crime. This area is not part of Central,” says Edwards. He explains that the eastern boundary of Central is Rink Street; the northern boundary is Russell Road; the eastern is Winston Ntshona Street all the way down to the Donkin Reserve and the southern is the Baakens Valley.
“In this area we have 50 cameras in total, including Automatic Number Recognition Cameras (ANRC) at all the entrance points to the neighbourhood. We have 13 of 15 ANRCs installed and we’re busy installing the other two. In addition we have 35 Artificial Intelligence (AI) cameras installed throughout the Central area. All the cameras are linked to the control room. The cameras are mounted high up and they have tamper alerts linked to the patrol cars. Our ultimate goal is visibility of every block and every metre of Central.”
Moore adds: “If the control room officers pick up any questionable activity on the cameras, they send the vehicle there to check up on what is happening. We call it ‘nudging’ because we do not respond aggressively in any way, but people tend to disperse when they see the vehicles arriving. Nine times out of ten, groups of guys walking the streets at night are the problem. We have also managed to clear drug dealers from known areas which now have cameras focused on them. And squatters from parts of Rink Street and Western Road. Many are vagrant youngsters on drugs and we have someone who is involved in a drug rehabilitation programme engaging with them.”
Stirk says they have also created two WhatsApp groups for Central residents, one for response calls called ‘Central SRA Response’ that the security company then acts on straightaway, and one called ‘Central SRA Communication’ to communicate neighbourhood information. “We also have a full-time block marshal, Hlanganani Vundla, who is our eyes and ears in Central,” says Stirk. “He lets everyone know about the Central SRA and what we are doing and invites them to join the WhatsApp groups. He’s such an asset, the residents are getting to know him and they like him, which is important. And we recently employed a second block marshal on contract to further increase our presence in the area.”
Moore says Vundla’s input, together with the patrol vehicles and control room helps them to monitor Central at all times and to rapidly respond to hotspots when required. “To back up our static cameras we have a mobile platform where we can install cameras for anything from a couple of hours to a few months until the situation is resolved. The trick is, no matter where you are, you have to consistently maintain vigilant safety and security to create a safe neighbourhood,” says Moore. “We know we’ll win in Central because we have all the appropriate systems in place and, as the Afrikaans saying goes, Aanhou is wen.”
ends
Note: Anyone with an interest in Central and all residents are invited to join the WhatsApp groups and help the Central SRA in working for change – please drop us a line at info@centralsra.co.za or follow us on Facebook.
hed to investigate, one with an onboard camera to capture any process going down,” Moore explains. “We also have an excellent relationship with the Metro Police and SAPS Humewood, which provides us with crime stats on a weekly basis so that we can plan where to focus.”
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