Services and Structure
LMRID currently contract with Securitas as our security service provider. Under this arrangement, Securitas are responsible for providing two public safety response vehicles into the LMRID area on a 24×7 basis, backed up by a 24×7 control room. Additional patrollers (and chrysalis cadets) are utilised on an ad-hoc basis as budget allows, and these resources are based out of the LMRID mobile trailer. Securitas provide ongoing overview and incident reporting to the Board as well as GPS traces of the movement of the vehicles as and when requested by the Board. Our control room and Securitas management maintain very strong links with the Mowbray SAPS and the local CPF.
To contact the LMRID control room please dial 086 105 6743 (08610 LMRID) or through the Telegram security groups.
Telegram Groups
LMRID are committed to supporting the two neighbourhood watches in our area in a rollout of the Telegram App for instant messaging.
There is a security group for the Little Mowbray side of Durban Road and a group for the Rosebank side. Membership of these groups is controlled, so as to ensure that those with criminal intent are not able to join the groups and thus monitor our activity. To join either of the groups please contact your respective NW street coordinator.
LPR Cameras
What is LPR?
Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras are a rapidly evolving solution that couples digital cameras with the use of high end optical, distributed network data collection and advanced computer processing technologies. Essentially a high specification camera is coupled with a high-end processor in a compact camera mounting. The camera is positioned is a strategic spot where images of vehicles in its line of sight are passed to an on board computer which extracts details from the captured image. The processor is able to determine Licence Plate details. These details together with the captured image of the vehicle are transmitted to a processing service via on board network facilities built into the LPR camera. The analysis service is then able to determine if the captured image of the vehicle is associated with the registration details of a vehicle being sought by law enforcement authorities who are securely granted access to the data base holding a maintained record of these wanted vehicles. Should the image be associated with such a vehicle, an alert is generated instantly to monitoring staff who are tasked to respond to such alerts.
Cape Town has a rapidly growing network of such LPR cameras. They have already become extremely useful and effective in providing law enforcement agencies with information that is both useful in reactive and retrospective situations. This technology has been used to link perpetrators of criminal activities with specific incidents as detailed records of movements are readily recorded to assist prosecution officials. It is also useful for local officials (our LMRID security officers for example) to be made aware of the presence of a vehicle that has been identified to be associated with criminal activities, even if the criminal activities took place elsewhere. Having such a network of cameras thus make it harder for criminals to operate anywhere in the area covered by this network of LPR cameras.
A key advantage of this technology is that a large degree of detailed monitoring and identification is processed automatically and accurately which is more cost effective than typical manual based solutions. No solution is of course a ‘silver bullet’. Licence plates can be (and are) changed or removed by criminals. In response the technology is rapidly evolving, and future versions of the technology will be less reliant on actual licence plate details and will catalogue harder to alter details of each vehicle.
So where are we in LMRID with LPR ?
The LMRID area has a number of cameras installed inside its territory. Some of these cameras have been installed by the City of Cape Town and have been operational for a number of years. Alerts generated by these cameras have led to a number of authorities interventions. LMRID has started implementing additional LPR cameras since December 2019. The project was interrupted by the implementation of various lock down’s during the course of 2020, but work has resumed late in 2020. LMRID will shortly have every single access route into the LMRID area covered by LPR cameras.
Alerts generated by some of the LMRID cameras already implemented have led to prosecution of individuals on a number of occasions – so the initiative is most definitely proving effective.
And the thanks go to…
None of this would be possible without the assistance of property owners who have granted permission to host the cameras in strategic locations in the LMRID area. Simple geography dictates whether a property is suitable for hosting a camera (or not). Precious few properties in the area are suitable for the hosting of such facilities. It has been extremely gratifying for the project team to receive warm co-operation and support from the property owners of such identified properties.
The residents of LMRID owe a big debt of gratitude to the residents who provided their support and agree to host an LPR camera on their property. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Nick Moult who has championed this project on our behalf and seen it through to operational success.
We are all the safer for their support and efforts!