Crime fighting drones could feature in the City of Cape Town protecting citizens even in the cover of night.<\/p>\n
Following a recent report\u00a0by Carte Blanche<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>on the testing of surveillance drones (also known as RPA \u2013 remotely piloted aircraft) during police raids in Cape Town, MyBroadband<\/a> spoke to the city and the company behind the aerial units about the future of remote surveillance in the sky.<\/p>\n Cape Town tested the drones recently while police carried out a drug bust in the Cape Flats. When arriving at the suspect\u2019s house, a drone with an infrared camera was launched nearby and watched from above, capturing everything.<\/p>\n The RPA featured is a\u00a0product of Dronetec, which was contracted by the city for the test.<\/p>\n \u201cThe drone gives similar aerial support as a helicopter without the hassle of all the paperwork and expense of a pilot and fuel,” said Dronetec.<\/p>\n The RPA chosen was the Dronetec W.A.S.P. Mk4 equipped with\u00a0a close ground support package.<\/p>\n It has\u00a0a \u201cx8 design\u201d with four arms and eight motors, operates at an altitude of\u00a050m \u2013 150m in police operations, has a 2km range (weather dependent), and can stay in the air for up to 30 mins.<\/p>\n \u201cTop speeds of over 100km\/h have been recorded, but in normal flight the speed is roughly between 40-60 km\/h depending on flight conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n In the test run during the police bust, the RPA tracked suspects from above using its thermal imaging.\u00a0The drone was also equipped with\u00a0a Sony TV camera and an LED spotlight on a gyroscope.<\/p>\n Mayoral Committee Member Safety and Security for the City of Cape Town\u00a0JP Smith said the test was a success, and the use of drones\u00a0is\u00a0effective in a multitude of situations \u2013 not only in police raids.<\/p>\n \u201cChecking fire breaks, to disaster response coordination, to traffic management, to gang and drug operations \u2013 the drones are useful in that they create a huge tactical advantage where the operational commander can see what is happening at the target property and instruct his officers accordingly,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw drug dealers fleeing down passages and into homes, we saw where one tossed his package of heroin and we saw a gangster crawl across a roof and drop into a neighbouring property. We were able to arrest him, much to his surprise, when he emerged a few houses down.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith\u00a0said Cape Town also plans to use a fixed-wing push prop drone for anti-metal theft operations in Philippi. The drone stays airborne for three hours, checking the contents of scrap yards before a raid. It can also be used to check disaster scenes during and after an\u00a0emergency, check land invasions, and monitor informal structure creep.<\/p>\n \u201cDrones\u00a0are a cost-effective way to do remote controlled camera surveillance and photography rather than owning or hiring helicopters. They have their limitations in terms of weather, so there will always be environments in which you need an aircraft, but drones can do a lot of good,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen linked to other technologies, like Shotspotter (gunfire detection technology) and license plate recognition cameras, they can become extremely effective.\u201d<\/p>\n The video below details how the\u00a0Dronetec unit\u00a0and its thermal imaging works.<\/p>\n The widespread use of drones\u00a0is difficult in South Africa, though, due to strict\u00a0Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations in place while policy on the matter is drafted.<\/p>\n Obtaining a licence to operate a drone for specific operations is time-consuming and expensive, according to the Carte Blanche report. The\u00a0CAA states that the use of all drones\u00a0is currently illegal in the country.<\/p>\n SA drones successful in driving away rhino poachers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nCity of Cape Town test<\/h3>\n
Drone use difficult in SA<\/h3>\n
More on Drones<\/h3>\n