City adds Eye-in-the-Sky to crime-fighting tools

Staff Reporter|Published 10 months ago

The City demonstrated its latest crime-fighting technology, commonly referred to as Eye-in-the-Sky,a two-seater piloted aircraft fitted with cameras to provide high-definition aerial imagery.

The City on Monday demonstrated its new crime-fighting aerial surveillance technology during a staged search, rescue and car chase scenario.

The City said its information, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technology will take information gathering to the next level in the fight against gang incidents, poaching, stolen vehicles, vegetation fires and various criminal activities.

ISR, commonly referred to as Eye-in-the-Sky, is a two-seater piloted aircraft fitted with state-of-the-art cameras to provide high-definition aerial imagery for smarter policing operations.

The aircraft can fly higher than a drone, and is fitted with infrared cameras, allowing it to register the heat resonating from a recently fired firearm, body heat in cold water, or even the wheels of a speeding vehicle.

“The ISR technology has the versatility to cover larger geographical areas, stay in the air for longer periods doing reconnaissance flights, and is less weather dependent than drones,” said Mayco safety and security member JP Smith.

“We are excited about the prospects of this secret weapon, especially in combating drug dealing, gun violence and gang activity. The aircraft will also assist with improving rapid response time by officers during planned operations as precise information can be relayed.

The City demonstrated its new crime-fighting aerial surveillance technology during a staged search, rescue and car chase scenario. Picture: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers

“On April 30, the City’s Eye-in-the-Sky closely recorded poachers in Hout Bay from kilometres away, enabling a raid on the startled criminals at their residence nearby. Over 3 000 crayfish and a high-powered boat was seized, with the entire crime documented for prosecution,” said Smith.

The Eye-in-the-Sky aircraft is a Cessna 337.

The City said it wants this technology to also help in areas beyond law enforcement, including the monitoring of high-voltage lines, vandalism of vital infrastructure and coastal impact and biodiversity-related issues.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the Eye-in-the-Sky technology will be in use alongside other tech they were investing in, including drones, dashcams, bodycams, gunshot detection, licence plate recognition cameras, and EPIC – the master digital co-ordination systems for all City crime prevention.

“The City is investing R610 million in various safety tech over three years, having already invested R200m in the current financial year,” said Hill-Lewis.

Cape Times