Mbeki opens 10111 centre

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 29 Oct 2007

President Thabo Mbeki this morning officially opened the police's new R600 million 10111 centre for Gauteng, in Midrand.

The call centre replaces six previous facilities that, between them, handled 4.6 million calls last year. The facilities were incapable of interoperating and had become outdated. The new centre was expected to become operational during July 2007, but several delays plagued the launch.

"This is an important initiative in our fight against crime," said Mbeki. "It ushers in a new era in crime-fighting across the nation."

Mbeki said two more centres, one in the Eastern Cape and another in KwaZulu-Natal, will open shortly. He added that the entire country will eventually be covered by such centres.

Referring to the recent murder of reggae artist Lucky Dube, Mbeki said: "Things cannot be treated as normal. We need to deal decisively with crime.

"The police are confident that this new system will allow them to deploy faster because call centre agents can dispatch the nearest vehicle.

"May the number 10111 forever be synonymous with help for all South Africans."

Mbeki added that the system was "state-of-the-art technology that corrects the defects of previous systems" by providing better interpretability and actively monitoring the whereabouts of police officers. This allows call centre operators to monitor both their location and dispatch the nearest police officer to a call for help.

Personnel have been retrained to operate the new systems that will also be able to track and trace complainants who phone for assistance. New personnel have also undergone training.

Safety and security minister Charles Nqakula said the opening of the centre was an important occasion "and shows the extent to which we will rise to fight crime. This is hi-technology of the best and highest calibre."

Nqakula said the facility compared with some of the best in the world.

Craig Venter, chief executive of Altech, the company that provided the R506 million Motorola-based terrestrial trunked radio network, said the system would enhance the safety and efficiency of police officers who provide an essential service to the South African public.

"This is a world-class radio communications system," says Venter.

As of yesterday, the system is providing police emergency services to the Vaal Rand policing area. Project manager assistance commissioner Danny Pillay says the other five contact centres will be migrated to the Midrand centre "by the end of November".