South African traffic cops to get body cameras, drones

South African traffic officers will be issued with body cameras to help gather evidence and improve the conviction rate for traffic law violators.

Addressing the launch of the Easter road rafety campaign on Monday, deputy transport minister Dikeledi Magadzi said South Africa is ready to issue traffic officers with body cameras.

“As the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) rolls out the use of body cameras … over the next three to five years, we aim to improve the levels of service and ensure that this is executed to serve and protect our road users,” Magadzi said.

The deputy minister said the cameras will act as a deterrent for corruption, effectively preventing officers from soliciting or accepting bribes from motorists. “Every interaction a traffic law enforcement officer has with a motorist will be recorded. Starting this Easter, there will be nowhere to hide for those who live beyond their means and finance their lavish lifestyles through bribes, at the expense of the law-abiding citizens on the roads.

“Traffic law enforcement will stop being an enrichment scheme for the unethical, unscrupulous, greedy and corrupt officers who undermine our efforts to bring discipline on our roads and arrest the carnage,” she said.

Drone surveillance

In addition, government is strengthening law enforcement by investing in drones. “The drones will assist to proactively identify hazards on the roads, and to identify motorists who are driving recklessly and at unacceptably high speeds,” Magadzi said.

“Officers will then be deployed strategically to respond using the live intelligence supplied by this technology. I must, however, hasten to add that consultations are still ongoing with the justice crime prevention and security cluster to ensure that evidence gathered through the use of these drones is admissible and leads to a higher conviction rate.”