Author Topic: South Africa cemeteries to microchip tombstones  (Read 667 times)

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Offline Cincinnatus

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South Africa cemeteries to microchip tombstones
« on: November 16, 2013, 01:35:01 am »
Good grief, is there nothing someone won't steal and at the same time show complete disrespect for others, including the dead?

Quote
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Amid a rash of tombstone thefts from cemeteries in Johannesburg, a company will be offering relatives of the deceased a high-tech solution: microchips that can be inserted into the memorial that will sound an alarm and send a text message to their cell phones if it is disturbed.

The city already allows microchips to be placed inside graves to help families locate their loved one's final resting places in the vast grassy spaces. Now, with thefts often carried out at night and the recycled marble or granite tombstones winding up in the hands of crooked stonemasons, authorities are taking technology a step further to foil those who take "graveyard shift" a little too literally.

The new tombstone microchips developed by a private company will be offered at the beginning of next year as part of the city's "smart" initiatives, said Alan Buff, the manager of Johannesburg City Parks Cemeteries and Crematoriums.

Nearly 20 marble tombstones are stolen monthly from the city's 36 public cemeteries, despite security guards and perimeter sensors. Buff said the city has allowed two pilot projects at its Avalon and Westpark cemeteries, and will roll out the technology further if it stems the thefts of the valuable items.

"This is peace of mind for the family," said Buff. "Tombstones are the property of the owner which is the family member, and you'll find you cannot insure a tombstone or it's too expensive for many. By doing this, it is insured."

The microchip system is called Memorial Alert, said Mark Pringle, the director of the private company that established the technology.

"We place a transmitter unit into the tombstone, so that it is not visible or accessible. Any unauthorized tampering activates a number of alarms," he said. First, a loud alarm goes off at the cemetery.

"This in itself should be a fair warning to the perpetrators," he said. Then text messages are sent to the mobile phones of delegated family members and any integrated security companies.

Coming soon to a cemetery near you?
We shall never be abandoned by Heaven while we act worthy of its aid ~~ Samuel Adams

Offline Fishrrman

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Re: South Africa cemeteries to microchip tombstones
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2013, 03:33:06 am »
[[ Good grief, is there nothing someone won't steal and at the same time show complete disrespect for others, including the dead? ]]

It's South Africa.

If you want to read something interesting about SA, I suggest you try Ilana Mercer's "Into the Cannibal's Pot: Lessons for America from Post-Apartheid South Africa".

She is a South African who originally supported efforts to end apartheid there, and who emigrated to America not long after "majority rule" was effected.

She was a liberal who seems to have changed her tune, and she makes no bones about telling the truth of what happened there.

And what someday could happen _here_, as well.

The article above doesn't surprise me.