Project Strategy and Participation

This is the document shared with the community in October 2022. While the contribution amounts have stayed the same, many other things, including the placement of cameras, has changed. It is provided here for reference and completeness.

---

Background

The Hillcrest/Wendy community is very committed to ensuring safety and security in our neighbourhood. We are exploring ways to collectively deter and reduce criminal activity, especially where this is cost effective due to pooling of resources.

Installing security cameras at strategic points along our two streets and elsewhere, has been agreed as something with strong potential to achieve the above goals.

The Cameras

The project aims to install six cameras as per this map. As and when funds allow, additional cameras will be installed so that all vulnerable and/or strategic access points are covered.

[Note: This is not the final plan of camera locations]

Cameras require set-up and installation, as well as internet connectivity to transmit images and be viewed by the community and the monitoring company.

Monitoring

For maximum effectiveness, cameras need to have the appropriate resolution and artificial intelligence capabilities (they learn faces, licence plate numbers etc, and notify when unusual ones appear, etc.). They should be monitored. At least some—and ultimately all—cameras would ideally be linked to an external company effective at monitoring and acting speedily on suspicious activity.

A minimum 12 month contract is required by service providers we’ve spoken to, and monthly charges are levied per camera being monitored.

Costs

At current prices, each camera costs approximately R2,000 to buy. Depending on how many cameras are installed at the same point, and how far that point is from the internet connection and the monitoring company’s router, installation costs range between R1,000 and R1,500 per camera.

Buying and installing the first six cameras is estimated to cost R19,500. Monthly monitoring of all six cameras is R3,300 per month based on a quote from Beagle.

Various combinations of cameras and monitoring were explored, as well as different approaches to paying for this. The results are summarised in this table:

The above table shows the four options that were explored in terms of how many cameras to install and how many to link to active monitoring. For each of the four options, three ways were considered for paying for it: All costs paid upfront, set-up and one year’s monitoring paid upfront, only set-up paid upfront.

The best way forward, from a cost, benefit and risk point of view, is to pay for 6 cameras and set-up and one year of monitoring, upfront, and for the rest of the monthly monitoring costs to be collected monthly. The costs of this approach are those highlighted in yellow above.

Oversight

We could either formalise ourselves into a Homeowners Association, or piggyback off an existing association, or remain fairly informal but with appropriate transparency, risk-mitigation and sharing of responsibilities.

HOAs are very admin intensive in terms of running them, and piggybacking off another association might make us beholden to their rules that could frustrate our efforts. It feels most appropriate to start off informally ourselves, and to form a camera working group of residents, to drive the efforts and be accountable to the community.

This working group would consist of anybody who wants to participate actively. We cannot rely on just one or two people, nor is it efficient to have 89 residents debate every aspect before its implemented. We have a great diversity of skills and abilities amongst us and therefore the working group should be constituted without a problem.

At the least, we need people to:

1. Advise and assist with the actual cameras, including functionality, installation and maintenance.

2. Advise and assist with security expertise regarding vulnerabilities and how to best address them.

3. Liaise with the security company in terms of setting up agreements, escalating issued and ensuring they perform their services appropriately.

4. Administer the WhatsApp group.

5. Oversee finances, including total costs, monthly inflows and outflows and reporting to the community.

6. Drive community engagement.

7. Assist with time to install and/or maintain the structures and cameras.

Participation - Financial

Participation cannot be mandated; it must be voluntary. The more households that sign up to contribute financially, the smaller each contribution will be.

We know different folks have different means and place different priority on security, therefore we have suggested a “Recommended Participation amount” but will also accept houses who contribute less and who contribute more than those amounts.

Whatever amounts we do receive, we will put to work. And we will only take the project as far as our financial means allow.

The Recommended Participation amount, as per the table above, are:

Upfront: R1,970

Monthly: R55

If at least 30 households commit to this project, the upfront contributions will cover purchasing and installing six cameras, as well as monitoring of all six, for the first 12 months. The R55 contributions will be saved and applied to monthly monitoring costs from month 13 onwards. This approach was taken so that the individual households who sign the 12 month contract with Beagle do so while knowing that the funds have already been collected that they are guaranteeing.

Here is the list of cameras, linked to the 4 options per the costing analysis above:

If a resident wishes to have a camera installed at/near their property, as part of this effort and at their own personal cost, this needs to be raised with the working group, for a specific pricing to be done and obligations secured prior to this being implemented.

Once the financial commitments have been received from the community by way of a final survey, we will assess how many cameras we can actually install and have monitored.

Participation – Non-financial

Time and effort is often as value as financial input. Therefore, we welcome volunteers to be actively involved in the working group.

In the survey, and at any time afterwards, residents can put their hands up to be involved in the working group.

There is also upfront and once-off opportunities to assist. For example, to house the hardware on your property, if that is the closest property to a camera being installed. This kind of assistance in invaluable to the success of the project.

Policy and Paperwork

All upfront contributions will receive a receipt in acknowledgement of contributions made. As we are not a formal entity, we will not be able to open a specific bank account for this and therefore the working group will assign a trusted member to keep the funds in a specific savings account for this purpose. The savings account statements, as well as books of account will be kept and reviewed at regular intervals.

Households who have financially contributed will receive log-in credentials to be able to view the live and recorded feeds from all cameras.

As new residents move into the community, they will be invited to join the camera project too, at the same upfront and monthly contributions as everybody else. For people moving out of the community, they will stop contributing monthly but not be entitled to any costs refunded.

At the end of each 12 month period, a review will be conducted of the financial status of the project. If funds have been collected in excess of future needs (for example, if more people join after this initial intake), then additional cameras can be installed and/or future monthly contributions can be reduced. If there is a shortfall of funds for future needs, this will be shared with the community and decisions will be made to raise additional funding or down-size the project as necessary. Our financial commitment to Beagle (or whichever monitoring company we finally sign with) will only be for 12 months, meaning that there won’t be any liabilities larger than what we know our finances will allow.

Looking ahead

If this project proves successful, then we have a blue-print for future endeavours. Even if the cameras, for whatever reason, don’t reduce criminal activity to the desired extent, we would still have built the infrastructure and credibility amongst ourselves to take on new efforts to protect the enjoyment of our homes and public spaces.

Please support this effort to the maximum extent you can. Thank you.