DRONES & GUARDING

Next-level security that’s saving lives and reducing criminality

Even in its most rudimentary form, drone surveillance is becoming a critical component in company security toolboxes.

That’s according to Kim James, a director at Drone Guards, who says ‘eye in the sky’ drone technology has become another vital layer of defense for security teams on the ground. This critical vantage point, she says, allows guarding personnel to see in the dark ‘witching hours’ when criminals are usually active, and identify suspicious activity in real-time, without putting their lives at risk.

“In addition to our residential sites, where drone technology literally lets residents sleep better at night, we have drones on large industrial premises, mines, and even in nature reserves. In most instances, the drone teams are deployed at night and in known crime hotspots,” she says, adding that criminals chasing high-value assets often ‘out-arm’ security forces on the ground.

Kim James, a director at Drone Guards.

“Drones with thermal sensors can identify suspects often before they even manage to get onto the site,” she explains. “Tight integration between drone and security teams means that as soon as a suspicious activity or situation is identified, they can make the right decisions to counter it without putting themselves in danger. We get regular feedback that guards don’t feel safe or effective working on a site without drones providing them with ‘air cover’. We are also recording multiple successes – in some cases up to 100 percent year-onyear – with regard to the reduction of crime and incidents, thanks to the presence of our drone teams.”

Adds Zelia Phukuile, Marketing and Communications Manager at Bidvest Protea Coin: “The application of drones in the security environment requires a significantly different approach and infrastructural investment, compared with surveying, inspections, or engineering projects. In a typical security operation, a drone will do a routine patrol over critical infrastructure or targeted areas to detect intruders. It also serves as a rapid response to alarm activations or suspicious activities detected by security teams on the ground or via CCTV cameras.”

Evolution during Covid

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for the security sector to adapt and evolve, Phukuile states. “While drone technology has been around for more than 13 years, its applications have drastically changed the way that modern security is conducted. Drones can enhance security measures through incorporating the technology as an integral component within a security operational plan.”

She continues: “During 2021 (when South Africa was engulfed by the Covid-19 pandemic), 108,114 suspects were identified and more than 208 arrests were made across the sites where we apply drone technology. Bidvest Protea Coin has developed a specialised tactical drone capability, with customised vehicles equipped to sustain 12-hour operations in remote operational areas and flight hours of more than 60 minutes,” she says, emphasising the value of real-time video transmission that provides accurate and critical information, during incidents, to ground teams.

New technology

Global developments around autonomous ‘Uncrewed Aerial Systems’ (UAVs) have resulted in the ‘eagerly awaited drone-in-abox’ says James. Essentially a docked drone, protected from outside elements, it can be deployed by a predetermined trigger, she explains. It will then fly autonomously to the trigger site while feeding back live footage to the control room for either AI (artificial intelligence) or human intervention.

G4S, James points out, has partnered with Azur Drones to use its Skeyetech technology and several countries – the latest being Germany – have approved this kind of operation, too. “Personally, I think it will still be a while before we see it in South Africa, though we’re all waiting with bated breath for autonomous drone technology to be approved.”

Residential

The Fidelity Services Group, under the banner of Fidelity Drones and in partnership with the UDS Group, recently launched a two-month drone project in the greater Fourways area of Johannesburg. Wahl Bartmann, Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Services Group, says that the offering consists of a mobile command centre, linked to a tactical response unit for both reactive and proactive purposes, a qualified drone pilot and a fully equipped state-of-the-art drone. It will not only increase proactive crime prevention in residential areas, he believes, but it will also allow for more rapid responses to incidents, and play an important role in other emergency situations such as dangerous fires and land invasions.

Mining

Bidvest Protea Coin deploys more than 34 permanently-contracted drone teams in South Africa’s mining sector, says Phukuile, adding: “Data and statistics compiled over the past 12 months and 134,000 hours by Bidvest Protea Coin and our sister company UAV & Drone Solutions, show that aerial surveillance services complement and enhance security services, while reducing the cost of operations and minimising the risk of exposure to our security officers, clients and the public. Contactless security – for example where drones are used to escort suspects off mine property or deter entry or targeting of clients’ property – has evolved from a theoretical concept to a viable physical application with a host of benefits. Drones have proven their efficiency in large-scale security applications, such as mining, thanks to their ability to support manned guarding with monitoring large perimeters, highrisk assets, infrastructure, and equipment/ machinery using real-time situational awareness, especially during crimecombatting operations.”

Concerns

The potential for criminal use of drones is a concern for Karen Allen, Senior Research Adviser, Emerging Threats in Africa, ISS (Institute for Security Studies) of Pretoria. In her report, she writes: “The global commercial drone market is forecast to reach US$43 billion by 2024, with Rwanda, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya expected to be Africa’s biggest users. Commentary typically focuses on military drones and implications for international humanitarian law, or the use of drones for business and humanitarian purposes.”

“The proliferation of drone technology across Africa has significantly expanded humanitarian, development, business, and military operations. Drones, also known as unmanned aerial systems, have many positive uses, she says, but in the hands of terrorists and other criminals, they can be used as weapons, new forms of explosive devices, for illegal surveillance and precision targeting.

“The fact that hobbyist drones are commercially accessible and becoming more affordable heightens the threat and presents a challenge to those seeking to restore peace,” she warns, adding that Don Rassler of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point told researchers at the ISS that it’s ‘only a matter of time before drones get deployed more actively across Africa’. His studies, she says, “show how extremists acquire shop-bought drones in large numbers, transport them to conflict zones and adapt the technology to transform the devices into weapons.”

Wahl Bartman.

Solutions

Allen’s suggestions include governments implementing early warning systems to flag the purchases and delivery of large consignments, especially to areas of conflict. She also recommends creating registration schemes similar to those used for cellphones for shopbought drones that don’t require licences. “Internationally, the Global Counterterrorism Forum has developed the Berlin Memorandum under its Initiative to Counter Unmanned Aerial System Threats,” she notes further. “It urges states to observe numerous UN (United Nations) Security Council Resolutions that require ‘effective measures to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons and their means of delivery’”.

Regulation and compliance

According to the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), the South African agency responsible for drone safety, flying drones is legal in the country, provided that certain regulations are strictly followed. Its most important rules for flying drones are:

Private use:

• RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft) may only be used for an individual’s personal and private purposes where there is no commercial outcome, interest, or gain;

• The pilot must observe all statutory requirements relating to liability, privacy, and any other laws enforceable by any other authorities.

All other use:

• An RPA must be registered and may only be operated in terms of Part 101 of the South African Civil Aviation Regulations.

Bartmann says that Fidelity Drones will work hand-in-hand with the Vumacam suburb surveillance system and in strict accordance with all privacy and aviation restrictions and laws. “Drones need to be licenced and flight details have to be approved to fly in certain areas,” he explains, adding that drone operations may only be conducted with the permission of landowners and/or other designated authorities.

“South African regulations still require certified pilots to be on site and in control of operational drones, and only one drone per pilot is allowed,” says James. “Although we operate using automated flights – the drone operator sets automated waypoint missions for the drone to follow, before returning to the home point – autonomous operations are not yet allowed. This means that we rely on human operators to control the drone, and in many instances for humans to identify untoward activity. It’s not the most effective way of operating, since teams have to be awake for up to 12 hours at a time during a night shift, watching a screen and safely managing operations within highly regulated procedures and safety protocols.”

Particularly concerned about the human element of this way of operating, James says that nightshifts are notoriously difficult. “Disruptive night shift patterns, challenging work (during pursuits, for example), exposure to sometimes harsh weather elements, high risk environments and working away from home for longer periods of time, can all take a toll on the individual’s mental and physical well-being with the direct result of lower performance and engagement at work. “There is a fine balance between the operation’s profitability, client expectations, the actual goal of keeping high-value assets and people safe, and pilot remuneration,” she says, with the wellness of their teams one of their company’s main priorities.

Sources

Drone Guards www.droneguards.africa www.aerialworks.co.za

Institute for Security Studies (ISS) https://issafrica.org/

Bidvest Protea Coin https://www.proteacoin.co.za/

Fidelity Services Group https://fidelity-services.com/

South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) https://www.caa.co.za/