Cops buy hi-tech vehicles

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 08 Nov 2007

The police have commissioned the first of two command vehicles built for them by Fire Raiders, the emergency vehicle firm on the East Rand.

The first vehicle, delivered to the Gauteng police this week, will be used for crowd control, media liaison and community work, says spokesman superintendent Eugene Opperman. He declined to put a value to the deal.

Opperman says more could be acquired closer to the 2010 Soccer World Cup. To fulfil these tasks, the vehicle is fitted with state-of-the-art Tetra digital two-way radios, computers with e-mail, Internet and fax facilities. "It has excellent record-keeping capabilities," says Opperman.

"Although the vehicle is meant to better communication efforts with the media and community, it can also be used on an ad hoc basis as a roving operational room," he adds. "It is, therefore, a true asset when it comes to active contemporary crime-fighting efforts through effective communication in the province. It can also be used as a hi-tech observation point.

"What also makes this vehicle particularly useful is that it is fitted with a durable high-powered video camera, which can be electronically raised to about 10m above the vehicle," Opperman says. This means that high-resolution video recordings can be made of all happenings at, for instance, crime scenes.

The video and audio material, or photographs, can be sent in real-time or by e-mail to any media or specially equipped police operational room. "This could enable police managers who are not on the scene to get first-hand information about situations and happenings on the ground."

The vehicle is also fitted with a "Voice Commander" public address and siren system, which can, depending on prevailing weather conditions, be heard over a distance of about two to three kilometres. "This system is particularly useful when police need to evacuate certain areas in life-threatening situations. It can also be effectively used to talk to large crowds at crime scenes or other public events," Opperman says.

This type of vehicle would also be useful during policing efforts in 2010. The vehicle should be fully operational by 14 November.