The City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ) new by-law on closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras is facing immense backlash from various stakeholders, from private citizens to legal experts, security companies, and political parties.
The by-law, approved by the CoJ, makes sweeping changes to the way that camera systems are regulated in the city, raising concerns about how this will affect everything from car dashcams to street pole surveillance systems.
Major concerns
One of the largest stakeholders affected by the new ruling is Vumacam, a private company that has installed nearly 3,000 street pole camera systems across the Johannesburg and Tshwane metros in Gauteng.
These cameras feature licence plate recognition technology and have been a great success in combating crime, detecting 14,255 suspicious vehicle activities over a period of six months, leading to interceptions, arrests, and impoundments.
According to Vumacam CEO Ricky Croock, the new CoJ by-law requires that any person or business planning to install a camera with a view of a public area, such as a road, must now register their devices and receive approval from the municipality before doing so.
Furthermore, owners will need to renew their approval annually to continue using their cameras.
The CoJ’s official explanation for the new legislation is that it is enforcing South African privacy laws by cataloguing all cameras that monitor public areas, and that the database of surveillance systems will allow it to better combat crime.
However, Croock warned that, while Vumacam is on board with the goal of improving public safety, it will likely create a bureaucratic process that significantly delays crime prevention.
“If not implemented correctly, it could reduce residents and businesses’ ability to protect themselves,” he said.
The registration requirement, combined with the annual renewal process, will lead to significant costs and paperwork, creating a cumbersome process for any individual or company trying to install cameras.
Vumacam supports regulation of the CCTV industry but has raised strong objections to the by-law, claiming it is unconstitutional, reported The Citizen.
Croock went a step further, stating that the by-law imposes more restrictive measures than national law, undermining private security responses.
This ties into the other major restriction imposed by the new ruling, which states that footage recorded by any device that shows a crime taking place in a public area cannot be shared on social media or similar platforms.
Instead, all footage must now be shared with either the Johannesburg Metro Police Department or the South African Police Services for investigation.
Under this new provision, it is unclear whether private security firms will be able to access video feeds and respond to crimes in progress.
This ruling doesn’t apply to just fixed cameras, either, as Section 2 of the legislation states the provisions also apply to mobile cameras.
Under this broad definition, smaller devices such as smartphones and car dashcams may also need to be registered, as they can be used to record public spaces where a crime is taking place.
For example, one concern is that the by-law will make it illegal for a dashcam or smartphone user to film and publish a police or traffic officer demanding bribes from a driver they pulled over.
Growing opposition
The by-law has been heavily criticized by the Democratic Alliance (DA), which claims that the CoJ promulgated the legislation in a way that did not properly alert citizens to allow for comment.
“There was insufficient public participation, and only a few targeted stakeholders were consulted,” said DA councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku.
“Residents who pay for CCTV cameras were not consulted, and there is no clarity on approval timeframes, fees, or the registration process.”
The party also voiced its concern over the by-law’s impact on residents’ constitutional right to protect themselves, as the restriction on sharing criminal footage prevents community members from alerting their neighbours to crimes in their area.
Companies such as Beagle Watch and Specialized Security Services have expressed their own concerns, warning that the admin cost associated with registering and renewing camera systems is likely to impact low-income areas disproportionately.
Anti-crime watchdog Yusuf Abramjee has even accused the CoJ of using the new by-law to restrict the circulation of footage depicting crimes in an effort to obscure the severity of the problems affecting the province.
“This new bylaw is here because social media has made the state’s failures in curbing crime too visible,” he said.
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