South Africa, Cape Town, Western Cape
City of Cape Town Metro Police
Automatic number plate recognition, fixed and in-vehicle
OperationalJournalismPAI-7E53B54F
- Body
- City of Cape Town Metro Police
- Country
- South Africa
- Area
- Cape Town, Western Cape
- Technology
- Automatic number plate recognition, fixed and in-vehicle
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- Not known
- Legal basis
- Not stated in the source
- Oversight
- Not stated in the source
- Evidence
- Journalism
Named reporting by a reputable outlet - Source
- ITWeb
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-7E53B54F
Notes
Established by two independent South African publications, both quoting the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith, by name.
Engineering News, carried by Polity on 28 July 2023: the City already had fixed ANPR cameras, had piloted dashboard-mounted units the previous year, and would fit the technology to more enforcement vehicles in the 2023/24 financial year. The cameras scan plates to detect outstanding fines, warrants, cloned plates and stolen vehicles. Budget of 26 million rand covering ANPR, body cameras, dashcams and digital evidence management.
ITWeb, 19 November 2024: 290 in-vehicle ANPR cameras deployed during the 2023/24 financial year, operated with round-the-clock monitoring by the Metro Police Strategic Surveillance Unit. Reported results include one motorist arrested carrying 262 fines and 114 warrants totalling 209,200 rand, and 360 arrests with 71,843 traffic and by-law offences recorded in a single week. Smith is quoted: 'This system is improving efficiency by allowing our officers to focus on the right vehicles, which means it is increasingly more difficult to hide.'
Note that this is a municipal police service, not the South African Police Service. The two bodies are distinct and a future pass should keep them separate. Nothing read in this run establishes any SAPS national ANPR programme.
Fields left out and why. 'since' is omitted: fixed cameras predate the 2023 article by an unstated period and the 290 in-vehicle units date from 2023/24, so no single start date is established. 'vendor' is omitted: no supplier is named in either article. 'legalBasis' and 'oversight' are omitted: nothing specific was established.