Kouga expands drone technology to strengthen safer communities

Kouga Local Municipality is expanding its public safety programme with a range of new technology-driven initiatives, including a free panic button for vulnerable women, drone monitoring along identified school routes, enhanced beach safety and search-and-rescue capabilities, and improved protection for municipal infrastructure – all aimed at strengthening emergency response and creating safer communities.

KOUGA - Kouga Local Municipality is strengthening its commitment to safer communities through a one-year extension of its Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) programme, introducing expanded public safety capabilities aimed at protecting residents, supporting law enforcement and improving emergency response times.

First launched in March 2025, the programme operates from the municipality’s Incident Command Centre (ICC) in Humansdorp, using drone technology to provide emergency responders with aerial support during incidents involving crime, accidents, fires and floods. The expanded partnership with public safety technology company UrSafe Public Safety. will extend these capabilities to school routes, beaches, municipal infrastructure and other identified safety hotspots.

At the heart of the expansion is a free panic button service for vulnerable women and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), connecting users directly to the ICC for assistance.

Member of the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security Services, Alderman Daniel Benson, said the initiative demonstrated the municipality’s commitment to making public safety a priority and using technology to protect those who need it most.

“Every resident deserves to feel safe in their home, on their way to school or work, and in their community. By expanding this programme, we are strengthening our ability to respond to emergencies, support our law enforcement officers and provide additional protection to vulnerable residents,” said Benson.

“The free panic button is particularly important in our efforts to address gender-based violence. In an emergency, every second matters. Providing women with a direct link to our ICC can help responders identify their location and coordinate assistance more quickly.”

The panic button will enable participating users to send an alert, together with their location and identifying information, to the ICC. Operators can then coordinate an appropriate response, including dispatching a drone and alerting nearby patrol units. Registration will be coordinated through the municipality, local GBV support organisations and community safety structures.

The expanded programme will also introduce monitoring of identified school routes during designated hours, helping operators identify potential threats and alert patrol units when intervention is required. Along the coastline, drones will support beach safety and search-and-rescue operations by helping locate distressed swimmers and guiding lifeguards and rescue teams towards them.

Technology will also be used to protect municipal infrastructure, including reservoirs, pump stations and electricity substations, which are vulnerable to theft and vandalism. Night-time drone operations, using thermal imaging and night-vision capabilities, will further support law enforcement and search-and-rescue teams in difficult conditions.

“Protecting our infrastructure is also about protecting our communities. When cables are stolen or municipal equipment is vandalised, residents ultimately bear the consequences through service interruptions and additional repair costs. This technology gives our teams another tool to help prevent crime, safeguard essential services and respond more effectively,” Benson said.

The extension includes additional drone coverage, body-worn cameras for officers, detection of unauthorised drones near sensitive sites, and improved integration between emergency dispatch and digital evidence management systems.

The integrated system is intended to bring drone footage, body-camera recordings and incident records together, helping investigators compile reports and manage evidence more efficiently.

According to the programme information supplied by UrSafe, its digital evidence system has reduced case-reporting times in deployments to date from 13 days to less than five minutes.

The municipality’s ICC already combines drone operations with a network of more than 300 municipal and private security cameras. The expanded programme aims to strengthen coordination between emergency operators, law enforcement and other responding agencies.

Benson emphasised that technology would complement, rather than replace, community-based policing and the work of officers on the ground.

“Technology is most effective when it supports people. Our officers, emergency personnel and community safety partners remain central to protecting Kouga. These additional tools will help them make better-informed decisions, reach incidents more effectively and strengthen accountability,” he said.

The programme will operate within applicable privacy and data-retention requirements, with access to recorded evidence subject to controls and audit trails.

As Kouga continues to grow as a residential and tourism destination, the expanded DFR programme represents another step towards a coordinated approach to public safety – combining technology, responsive services and community partnerships to help create safer neighbourhoods for residents and visitors alike.

“I would like to thank Alderman Daniel Benson for the leadership, commitment and effort he has invested in driving this project to where it is today,” said Kouga Executive Mayor, Hattingh Bornman.  “His role in advancing this initiative has helped turn an innovative concept into a practical public safety programme that can make a meaningful difference in our communities.

“This is an important investment in the safety of our towns and the people who live in them. We want Kouga to be a place where families feel secure, businesses can operate with confidence, tourism can flourish and economic opportunities can grow. Initiatives such as this demonstrate our commitment to working towards that future.”