South Africa Deploys Drones and AI as Police Move to Scale Up Surveillance Against Crime

South Africa's police forces are expanding their use of unmanned drones and artificial intelligence systems to combat soaring crime rates, marking a significant shift toward technology-driven law enforcement in one of the world's most violent countries. The City of Cape Town officially launched its drone operations unit in April 2026 and plans to triple annual flight operations to 3,000, up from a baseline of 1,000. The initiative is backed by a R6.8 billion investment in an integrated crime-fighting infrastructure combining thermal-imaging drones, over 33,000 CCTV cameras, AI-powered analytics, and automatic license-plate recognition systems managed through a new Joint Public Safety Operations Centre.