Schools are often soft spots for criminals, a fact that has become increasingly apparent during the COVID-19 lockdown. Many reported instances of vandalism of property and theft of equipment and technology have highlighted the necessity of adequate security measures at these facilities to safeguard both the physical property as well as the lives of learners and educators.

“Global Communications (an Elvey Group company and part of the Hudaco Group of Companies) is very aware of the spiralling crime levels at schools and in light of our goal to mitigate crime, we identified SPARK Schools as a worthy recipient of our JVC security technology,” says Ernest Mallett, Sales Director at Elvey Security Technologies. The donation comprises an investment of approximately R1.6-million of high-tech monitors, network video recorders (NVRs) and both outdoor and indoor CCTV surveillance cameras.

SPARK Schools is a network of private, independent schools offering affordable, globally competitive education. Co-founded in 2012 by Stacey Brewer, this new model in high-quality education has expanded to 19 primary schools and one high school in Gauteng and a primary school in the Western Cape.

“Scholar safety is our fundamental goal, so this extremely generous donation of security technology by Global Communications will play a critical role in monitoring and detecting unauthorised activity at our high-risk zones, such as the perimeter, parking areas, front desk areas, common areas and the entrances and exits,” says Pascal Desfontaines, Head of Business Process and Transformation at SPARK Schools.

Desfontaines says that as soon as Government gives the go-ahead, a team comprising the SPARK Schools IT department and other certified service providers, will begin the process of deploying the security equipment at one of their locations to bolster existing security infrastructure, then roll it out to the other schools based on a proof of concept.

“A number of our schools are converted shopping centres, with multiple storeys, so it will be fantastic to ‘have eyes’ everywhere. The donation was extremely timeous given the current securing of schools during the lockdown. It will also ensure that once lockdown is over our risk profile will be dramatically reduced. We are very grateful to Global Communications for equipping SPARK Schools with the necessary technology to enhance our current security levels,” says Desfontaines.