A newly promulgated by-law regulating the use of private CCTV cameras in Johannesburg has been criticized as a major setback for crime-fighting efforts by residents.
The Sunday Times reported that the by-law reinforces existing legislation that prohibits residents from posting their CCTV footage online.
According to the publication, the regulation states that “no data or information collected through a CCTV camera shall be disclosed or shared with any person not authorised to have access to such data” and that “all CCTV camera footage or imagery of captured criminal incidents that require further investigation, shall be kept confidential.”
Crime Watch presenter and well-known anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee voiced his opposition to the by-law, arguing that it should not override public interest. “How can they stop me from sharing footage if it is in the public interest?” he asked.
“This new by-law exists purely because social media has made the state’s failures in curbing crime too visible,” Abramjee added. “I post hundreds of crime videos a month. If it weren’t for social media users like myself, residents would have no idea about the extent of crime in our country.”
City of Cape Town’s MMC for Safety and Security, JP Smith, told the Sunday Times that he had reviewed Johannesburg’s by-law. “It is not much different from our by-law, which we’ve been drafting for about two years. A workshop was held on Friday to finalize it.”
However, Cape Town’s draft by-law on CCTV cameras does not include a provision restricting footage owners from sharing content on social media or with Community Policing Forums (CPFs).
“We expect a degree of responsibility from our residents when it comes to other people’s privacy,” Smith stated. “Essentially, what we want to achieve is to regulate the cameras facing public spaces in our city. At the moment, there is no national framework covering this issue.”
