Vumacam, a leader in advanced surveillance technology, is revolutionising public safety through its extensive network of cameras and its strategic partnerships with both the public and private sectors. Michael Varney, the company’s Chief Operations Officer sat down with ProtectionWeb to discuss some of the company’s successes and future plans.

Varney explains that Vumacam’s network consists of poles with two license plate recognition cameras and one overview camera per configuration. The configuration is adaptable, depending on whether the area has high vehicle or pedestrian traffic. Additionally, poles are integrated with solar panels and power management systems to ensure continuous operation.

One of Vumacam’s biggest advantages, is its partnership with sister companies. Vumacam is part of a large group, which includes Vumatel, Dark Fiber Africa, and other significant fibre operators, enabling efficient infrastructure deployment.

Currently Vumacam has 7 000 cameras in public spaces, primarily in the city of Johannesburg, with recent expansion into the Western Cape and ongoing opportunities in the Eastern Cape, Polokwane and Mpumalanga.

Having first partnered with the City of Johannesburg, Vumacam has grown its relationship with the public sector to include the Gauteng provincial government. Commenting on the partnership, Varney noted Vumacam enables the provincial government, “with the data that comes with our platform, they’re able to dispatch the SAPS, the Highway Patrol, Flying Squad, and the Crime Prevention Wardens.”

The platform has significantly improved response times, said Varney, reducing from 18 – 30 minutes to 5 – 10 minutes. This he said, is “because the data that we’re using is so accurate, you’re able to then pinpoint, verify the alert that comes in, and pinpoint exactly where those [necessary] resources need to be dispatched.”

Public-private partnerships have allowed for seamless data sharing and effective crime reduction, with private security companies providing backup for public law enforcement, and vice versa. Previously, when private security companies intersected with an incident, guards were left waiting for law enforcement to arrive to affect the necessary arrests. Now, Varney notes, Vumacam is “able to ensure that we can provide backup for each other,” with this being key to reducing crime.

“We understand that we can’t do it on our own, but the ability for the public sector and the private sector to be able to work together has been massive, and I think something that we’re probably most proud of,” said Varney.

Vumacam’s network has facilitated significant crime prevention initiatives, including the interception of vehicles of interest across different regions. The benefit of multiple parties loading data onto a shared platform means if a vehicle is loaded due to an incident in one area, and is picked up in another, nearby parties or authorities can be notified to intercept.

In such a scenario, responders are notified with more than just vehicle info, said Varney. The number of suspects spotted inside the vehicle, and the crime it is believed to be involved in, are some of the alerts that can be shared.

“So you know [if] it’s a violent offender, you can approach with caution. You know, don’t take a knife to a gunfight,” said Varney.

“Our secret sauce is that we allow all of our partners, everyone who has access to the network, to be allowed to load their vehicles, deliver their SOPs to their customers in their own way, but benefit of the crowd sourcing, so to speak, of everybody loading data, and that’s ultimately how you eradicate crime.”

Looking to future opportunities, Varney notes “our future is bright,” and stated Vumacam plans to densify a national network. “We want to continue to work with the with the industry itself, to grow the density of our of our camera network,” he added. Future modules for Vumacam’s platform will allow operators to track vehicles by make, model colour and specific identifying features.

“We understand that, as soon as a vehicle is stolen, generally, the number plate is removed from the vehicle, but vehicles all have identifying markets. Whether it’s three license discs up the windscreen or logo on the roof, or roof racks on the roof, or paint, missing [the] side mirror. All of those become opportunities for us to continue to add value to the access that our customers have.”