FROM the second you leave your car to walk into the shopping mall or the airport, or when you are filling up your tank at the petrol station, Big Brother will soon be watching you.
The Gauteng department of community safety wants to gain access to all CCTV cameras in public spaces in the province to keep a closer eye on crime and to increase their response time.
The department has set aside R6,5million for a massive audit of its own cameras, to determine how many there are and how many are still functioning.
MEC Faith Mazibuko in her budget speech at the Gauteng legislature on Tuesday said she wants to integrate different CCTV technologies into one network.
"The project seeks to undertake an audit of all networks, both public and private, to determine requirements to achieve compatibility between different systems as well as to avail those to all law enforcement agencies to foster quick responses to crime scenes and accelerate the prosecution of criminal cases with ease."
Mazibuko said the audit also aims to determine how many camera cables could have been damaged as a result of road constructions.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Neville Malila said after police commissioner General Mzwandile Petros came into office this year, he met with captains of industries - including business, petroleum, mining and retail - and they "have all bought into the idea".
He said residential complexes and estates would be incorporated into the network "if they are willing".
"The idea is to also tackle crime hot spots and anybody who is willing to help with crime prevention will be integrated into the network."
The camera network would be monitored from a central command centre.
Safety department head Mongezi Tshongweni said they would draw up a report of how much money is needed to merge all the systems, after checking what will be needed to make all systems compatible.
JP Smith, a mayoral committee member for the City of Cape Town, said CCTV cameras need to be monitored and that without officers they are useless.
Government wants to gain access to all public CCTV cameras
FROM the second you leave your car to walk into the shopping mall or the airport, or when you are filling up your tank at the petrol station, Big Brother will soon be watching you.
The Gauteng department of community safety wants to gain access to all CCTV cameras in public spaces in the province to keep a closer eye on crime and to increase their response time.
The department has set aside R6,5million for a massive audit of its own cameras, to determine how many there are and how many are still functioning.
MEC Faith Mazibuko in her budget speech at the Gauteng legislature on Tuesday said she wants to integrate different CCTV technologies into one network.
"The project seeks to undertake an audit of all networks, both public and private, to determine requirements to achieve compatibility between different systems as well as to avail those to all law enforcement agencies to foster quick responses to crime scenes and accelerate the prosecution of criminal cases with ease."
Mazibuko said the audit also aims to determine how many camera cables could have been damaged as a result of road constructions.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Neville Malila said after police commissioner General Mzwandile Petros came into office this year, he met with captains of industries - including business, petroleum, mining and retail - and they "have all bought into the idea".
He said residential complexes and estates would be incorporated into the network "if they are willing".
"The idea is to also tackle crime hot spots and anybody who is willing to help with crime prevention will be integrated into the network."
The camera network would be monitored from a central command centre.
Safety department head Mongezi Tshongweni said they would draw up a report of how much money is needed to merge all the systems, after checking what will be needed to make all systems compatible.
JP Smith, a mayoral committee member for the City of Cape Town, said CCTV cameras need to be monitored and that without officers they are useless.
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