Just when you thought all those surveillance cameras in the city were just for show, the Cape Town Metro Police has used them to arrest a smash-and-grab suspect just moments after he allegedly did the crime. Turns out those ‘eyes in the sky’ really do work!
The City’s Safety and Security Directorate says the incident happened on Jakes Gerwel Drive, near Bonteheuwel, earlier this week. Apparently the suspect has been arrested before, for similar crimes along major Cape Town roads.
eNCA | Cape Town’s ‘eye in the sky’ catches repeat offender https://t.co/3P5oWkcf0W pic.twitter.com/svoVTgVubX
— eNCA (@eNCA) July 5, 2016
According to eNCA, the City’s Camera Response Unit (CRU) tracked the unfolding events. Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith say they were checking out the cameras in Langa, roughly eight minutes away from the scene of the crime when a call came in about the suspect’s whereabouts. They were able to follow his movements using the cameras and tracked him to his sister’s home, where police promptly arrested him.
This really sounds like something out of a movie. In fact, you can actually watch the whole thing. A video uploaded by the City of Cape Town shows the CCTV footage of the entire incident:
Photography courtesy
At long last the city is waking up
Slaat hom dood!!
Yay! Bravo Metro Cops! Thank you.
Well done to the Metro police and Tmc
My car was smashed and grabbed in Roeland street whilst being parked a month ago. We reported and showed two cameras to the police that could help solve what had happened. No news yet. Did the cameras work? If it did, did the investigator did his work? Glad that the expensive camera projects does work sometimes.
Is this the Van Riebeeck roundabout? I’m in California now and I worked in the building g on the right.. So homesick! U0001f63fU0001f625
Well done metro police this is what I was fighting for the last 10years to fit cctv cameras in the whole metro to catch the killers,rapist,and all other ilegal activities but it falls on deaf ears
Well done !
What was the smash and grabber using the surveillance cameras to do? How did he get his hands in the camera in the first place?
Be realistic we all would love to live in Utopia but it costs and we all hope one day we will get there.
Well done, we need more of this!
You’re absolutely right Robert Payne..that’s what the heading says !!
Well done to our cops and CCTU0001f3c5
The way the headline is written, I thought he had somehow hacked into the cameras and used them to select victims……….. Come on guys, clear English please.
English –a wonderful language….haha
Someone should “learn” them about grammar and punctuation! U0001f609
Its about time.Thats what the cameras are for and it works perfectly overseas.But then they employ enough people to monitor them and police to catch the robbers.Thats called job creation.Wonder when our government will realize that…..
Wens die Metro polisie in JHB doen dieselfe in plaas daarvan om net te kyk terwyl die skelms dit doen.
Well done…..PUT MORE UP!!!!!!!!
Oh, by now most of us know how to interpret the kind of higgledy-piggledy English that is used!!
How did the smash-and-grabber use the surveillance cameras? Same reaction as Robert Payne!!!
Writings are hilarious#some terrific cameras apprehending perpetrators!Anyway great good work using working cameras!
Well done and well said.
Well done CT well led province. Ups for our cops.