Hikvision secures one of Cape Town’s busiest and most affluent suburbs with Licence Plate Recognition solution and sees 65% decrease in crime

Some of Cape Town’s busiest roads, leading to one of the wealthiest suburbs, are now being secured with an automated Licence Plate Recognition system installed by LPR Solutions. At its heart is a network of 42 sophisticated Day/Night cameras from Hikvision, whose iVMS video management software streams the video data to the LPR software. The increased surveillance has led to a dramatic drop in crime within the suburb, down an indicated 65% following the introduction of the cameras.

Sea Point is one of Cape Town’s most affluent and highly developed suburbs, the only one in fact to have high-rise development of any significance. The area’s oceanside location and general level of affluence make it very popular with city residents who enjoy the beach front promenade, a paved walkway along the beach-front used by residents and tourists for walking, jogging and socialising. It is also attracting a large amount of investment in second homes and apartments.

However, it is not that long ago that the area was regarded as less desirable, even dangerous. On top of South Africa’s high crime rates, many of the apartment blocks had been neglected by the absentee landlords, leaving them in poor physical condition. The result was a very high crime rate, much of which was attributed to vehicle-borne criminals.

Monitoring universal access
Located just a few kilometres west of the city’s Central Business District, the roads that access Sea Point are some of the busiest in the entire peninsular. Many arterial roads lead in and out of the area, providing drivers with a wide variety of route options and appealing to residents and legitimate visitors. However, the sheer number of route options means that the criminal fraternity has also been able to enjoy only partially restricted access to this valuable real estate.

Recognising the possibility to improve the safety and security of the area, the Sea Point City Improvement District, a joint Municipal/Police entity, decided to establish a licence plate recognition (LPR) system to monitor Sea Point’s access roads and highways. Their aim was to identify and track every individual vehicle entering or leaving the area and co-ordinate law enforcement activity to combat crime. To design and implement the system they turned to local company, LPR Solutions.

Read More