We flag if there is something unusual such as potential hijacking

Vumacam CEO Ricky Croock joined Azania Mosaka on her show to explain how the network works and some of its functions.

Vumacam, the company rolling out a network of high-definition security cameras across Johannesburg, recently won a court battle it brought against the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) over the agency’s decision to stop issuing wayleaves to the company earlier this year.

In a court ruling handed down last week, it was found that the decision from the JRA to “suspend the consideration of aerial and CCTV wayleave applications” was “unlawful and invalid”.

The CCTV platform currently exclusive to Johannesburg has come under great public scrutiny, raising questions around privacy.

Vumacam CEO Ricky Croock joined Azania Mosaka on her show to explain how the network works and some of its functions.

“Just to paint the picture, we look at anonymisation of data. We can’t link a number plate to a person’s ID or any of their personal information. Really, what we are trying to look at is for situational awareness to say if something unusual is happening at that intersection – say there is a potential hijacking – it will then flag in the security company’s control room and then they can send out a response to go and assist.”
– Ricky Croock, Vumacam – CEO

“Similarly, what happens with the number plates is that we do, scan everyone’s number plates but that only queries against the SAPS unique code database and only if the car is listed as stolen or been involved in a crime, will it then flag into the security company’s control room and then that would then follow standard operating procedure and then pursue that vehicle to detain the suspect.”
-Ricky Croock, Vumacam – CEO

“We have looked at the POPI (Protection of Personal Information) Act and it’s only coming into effect next year but we have for the last two to three years looked at our interpretation of the POPI Act. We are overly sensitive around the privacy debate and making sure that it’s only being used for the right reasons. This is really for the communities and for the communities to benefit from because we live in the country that we do live with high crime rates and we need to do something about it.”
-Ricky Croock, Vumacam – CEO

“We are not interested in personal information, that is all anonymised information.”
– Ricky Croock, Vumacam – CEO