Welcome to the first edition of the Faircape Security Solutions newsletter: a quarterly update built for the people and properties we protect. Inside, you will find the latest from FSS, a look behind the scenes at how we work, and updates worth knowing about.
The way estates manage visitor access has not changed much in decades. PINs are shared in group chats before the contractor arrives. QR codes are forwarded to people who were never authorised. Remote controls are copied. And at the gate, a guard is expected to make the right call every time – under pressure and without error.
Faircape Security Solutions has changed this entirely.
Our new Facial Recognition Visitor Management System is one of the first of its kind in Cape Town – replacing every credential your gate currently relies on with the one thing that can’t be transferred: a verified face.
Here’s how it works:
1. INVITE
Residents send a secure digital visitor invitation from their smartphone.
2. PRE-ENROL
Visitors register their facial identity and vehicle details before arriving
3. VERIFY
Facial recognition and ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) confirm identity on arrival in under a second
4. ACCESS
Approved visitors drive straight through, fully logged
This means no queues, shared credentials, or guards required to make the right call. Every entry is recorded against a confirmed identity and available in a complete digital audit trail at any time.
If you would like to see it in action, we’d love to show you.
Most clients know they have active monitoring. Fewer know exactly what that means in practice.
Our accredited control room operates around the clock, using event-based “black screen” monitoring to identify potential security incidents before they occur. When movement or activity is detected, our trained operators are alerted immediately and can assess the situation, verify the incident and take the appropriate action. This may include live intervention, escalation to on-site security teams and coordination with relevant stakeholders.
When a verified event or incident is observed, our operators act immediately. Depending on the situation, this may include issuing live audio interventions, escalating to armed response, and notifying the relevant parties – all while the incident is still unfolding. In many cases, action has already been taken before those on site are even aware that something has occurred.
This is the difference between a camera system and a security system. This is what you’re invested in every month.
Want to understand more about how our monitoring works? Read our full breakdown on the website.
Silvertree Estate is home to 183 properties and between 450 and 500 residents. With that many people, that many access points, and that many daily movements, the margin for error is small and the consequences of a security failure are significant.
Jon Cohen chose Faircape Security Solutions for a straightforward reason: one partner, one point of accountability, and no gaps between providers. Camera installation, live monitoring, and proactive maintenance are all under a single umbrella, with a dedicated contact person available whenever something needs attention.
Today, 117 perimeter cameras are actively monitored from our control room around the clock. The results speak for themselves. During one early morning incident, our monitoring team detected a breach in real time and immediately notified on-site guards, who removed the intruder within a minute of the alert being issued. Not after the fact – while it was actually happening.
Monthly camera performance and maintenance reports keep the estate’s management team fully informed, and no issue goes unresolved or unaccounted for.
This is what a genuine security partnership looks like: not cameras installed and forgotten, but a living system with a team behind it that takes complete responsibility for what happens on your property.
What is the biggest access control vulnerability you still see on estates today?
“Shared credentials, without question. It’s remarkable how many estates invest significantly in security infrastructure, yet the front gate remains one of their biggest vulnerabilities.
A PIN gets shared in a residents’ WhatsApp group. A remote gets copied. A QR code intended for one visitor gets forwarded to someone else. These things happen every day, across estates of every size.
The answer isn’t more guards or stricter rules. It’s removing the shared credential altogether and replacing it with something that can’t be passed from one person to another.
That’s exactly what we’ve done with our new FSS Visitor Management system. We use facial recognition to link access to the individual rather than to a PIN, remote or QR code. Simply put: you can share a code, but you can’t share your face.”
We hope you found this edition useful.
As always, we are available if there is anything you need from us before the next one.
Kind regards,
Marius Bezuidenhout
Director
DIRECT: 021 815 5883
CLAREMONT: 021 815 5700