Cameras aid fight against theft of stock
Licence plates will be recorded and unusual traffic investigated
Cameras installed on rural roads across the province have already led to the arrest of a number of suspected stock theft criminals.
One of Eastern Cape’s fastest growing industries is stock theft. Nationally, stolen livestock was valued at over R3bn in 2018, with the hardest hit area being the eastern half of the Eastern Cape.
However, 4th Industrial Revolution technology, in the form of integrated camera systems that work day and night across vast areas, is about to hamstring the rustling, simply by identifying the vehicles used to transport stolen animals.
Project co-ordinator for Agri Eastern Cape Brent McNamara said: “The way the project works is simple.
“Static roadside cameras are used to get images of the scene. Multiple licence plate recognition (LPR) cameras are installed on a pole to allow a view in each direction. Infrared illuminators allow the cameras to capture images and video in darkness.
“The LPR cameras read all the licence plates that pass by and the recorded licence plates are referenced against a database of wanted or suspicious vehicles.”
Stock thefts, as long as they are reported immediately, can be linked to unusual transport activity, said McNamara.
High quality pictures enable farmers to identify cattle on open stock trailers.
The largest trailers can carry up to 120 weaners, or young cattle destined for the feed lots. Weaners sell for up to R10,000 each, with a full load valued at R1.2m.
Willie Clack, head of the stock theft protection forum (STPF), said 77% of thefts were never reported. However, the system would expose the large syndicates that load the livestock, mainly cattle, into stock trailers at night, and deliver them by morning to illegal abattoirs in Gauteng.
McNamara said there was a national list of illegal vehicles.
When a vehicle caught on camera is found to be listed on the database, an immediate alert is sent to the Atlas Security control room. Atlas is the project’s operations partner. Local authorities and Atlas response teams track the vehicle as it moves through the network of cameras in the area, and a roadblock is set up.
He said there were 101 installations operational in the province’s farmers associations, and another 29 planned.
McNamara said the cameras would eventually be linked to a national system. Funding was a limiting factor, as costs were currently borne by participating farmers’ associations.
Crime-fighting successes in the Eastern Cape include two farm attack arrests and convictions and 11 arrests for stocktheft, as well as several arrests for possession of stolen goods, unlicensed firearms, stolen vehicles and even shoplifting.
“Each installation costs about R70,000 and a further R2,000 per month to operate,” McNamara said, adding that total annual 24-7 monitoring fees amounted to R1.75m.
Agricultural associations raise funding from members, nonmembers, residents and businesses to install cameras in their own areas at strategic intersections and overview cameras on minor roads, he said.
Nguni farmer Pat Hobbs, past president of the Nguni Cattle Breeders Association (SA), welcomed the development.
He said some of the worst stock theft in the country occurred close to East London.
The largest trailers can carry up to 120 weaners, with a full load valued at R1.2m