AfriForum’s Malalane neighbourhood watch recently sent two drone pilots for training in Orania. These pilots will in future support AfriForum’s neighbourhood watches in the Lowveld during safety operations.
Hommeltuie has already been used quite successfully during the Spioenkop and Cromdale landgrabs, as well as during the strikes in Barberton earlier this year. It can also be used to provide support after farm attacks.
Neighbourhood watches can be used to scout areas without exposing people to harm. Information gathered during these scouting operations – for example hotspots in the immediate vicinity, possible weapons and the presence of suspects – can support the SAPS and other security services in their work.
The pilots were trained in the legal aspects of drone flying, in drone flying and how to successfully communicate by way of ground-to-air radios during operations. Pilots fly in teams of two, although both can control the drone.
“The team will continue to support all our neighbourhood watches in the Lowveld area. Their actions will save lives and ensure that we can act timeously during safety operations,” says Hillel Coetzer, AfriForum’s head of Community Safety for the northern region.