As a result, Visec Cloud is trusted by approved users who include the likes of SAPS members, the Hawks, the National Prosecuting Authority, counter-intelligence, environmental bodies, anti-poaching, city councils, metro police, law enforcement, approved neighbourhood watch operations managers, community policing forums, corporate market, large property owners/operators, border control, cash-in-transit and car rental risk investigators. The SLDC also do the background checks and authentication of users on the system. Think of what that would do to the reputation of all parties, including SAPS, municipal law enforcement, the security company, or even Visec itself,” he poses.įor this reason the company provides the systems and support for the independent group of passionate members of the SLDC (SAPS LPR Data Custodians) who do the outstanding work in authenticating changes to this live database and that it contains the correct and complete information, and can only be modified or accessed by authorised persons. “The worst case scenario would be if a vehicle was registered incorrectly as a VoI, for example if it had in fact already been recovered or its details were recorded incorrectly, and armed police or security officers swooped on the vehicle with deadly force. The integrity of the VoI database is key to the success of the Visec Cloud platform, since false alerts could lead to disastrous consequences. Berry says what intrigues him most about this is how standard technology can be used in a highly effective way to fight crime, and the fact that this policing can happen at a community level and strengthens the bond to an underfunded police force, and further strengthen the relationship between SAPS and the community. The foundation for the next stage of growth is Visec Cloud, a platform to provide services including the collection of licence plate information is taken from network-connected video cameras and automatically cross-referenced with a database containing vehicles of interest (VoI). “Initially I had a three-month contract to advise on the direction on the company, but I was so excited about where things could go that I was pleased to accept a longer term appointment,” Berry explains. With the ambition of taking the business to the next level, Visec employed chief strategist Jason Berry. Visec was founded by South African Gary Scagell and American Alex Bordbar in 2002 and, in March this year, was sold to a consortium of new shareholders. Several years ago, the company spun out its LPR services from its then core offering being video monitoring software, and under a new corporate structure it is now looking to evolve further in terms of both its technologies and its business model. In the licence plate recognition (LPR) landscape, Visec is a name well known for having spearheaded the South African market.