Catch ’em on the fly
A drone team consists of a pilot and a sensor operator who monitors the camera footage. One team, pilot Ryan Collier and operator Rebecca Taukobong, started their drone-flying partnership at a game lodge. Now they are up at night, monitoring train lines. Taukobong says the work is fascinating. She has spotted crimes and assisted in arrests daily since moving to Cape Town.
“It was rewarding to work with the animals,” she says. “And now we are making a difference in passenger safety. Patrolling with a drone camera is so effective because we can spot criminals before or as the crime happens. It is a huge success. Suspects must wonder how they were spotted. They don’t know we are the eye in the sky.”