Issued by: SA Communication Service
Pretoria: 20 May 1998
Whilst the SA Police Service does everything in its power to assist and protect the community against the onslaught of crime; an unacceptable and intolerable tendency has arisen that is hindering our efforts in this regard.
The emergency toll free number 10111 which puts the community in touch with police radio control rooms and quick response units is being abused to such an extent that it is seriously disrupting the efficiency and effectivity of service delivery by members of the SAPS.
Employees of the SAPS who receive calls on the 10111 are inundated with abusive, false, vulgar and nuisance calls. In several instances the abusive calls received far out number the genuine calls for quick response or immediate assistance. The consequences of this situation are the following:
- Unnecessary strain on the available manpower and resources.
- False and prank calls delay the reaction time to genuine requests for assistance and protection.
- De-motivation of members manning quick response vehicles.
- Lines to SAPS 10111 operators became clogged and the community are unable to communicate with the police in emergency situations.
The seriousness of the problem varies from Province to Province and control to control room but each and every 10111 control room experience the problem in some degree or the other.
The attention that is given to one false call or one abusive call could cause sufficient delay in a life or death situation which could render the SAPS not to respond in time.
It is not only the victims or the community at large who suffer as the result of the abusive calls but it has detrimental affect on telephone operators and vehicle crew.
The seriousness of the situation has been confirmed by the number of complaints received by the SAPS regarding the inability to contact 10111 and delayed response in cases of serious and urgent request for assistance.
It is ironical that from the SAPS preliminary investigation it would appear that the majority of abusive and prank calls can be ascribed to school children. The SAPS through the Adopt-a-cop programme and other initiatives have made great efforts to make school children aware of the 10111 service and to advocate the use of 10111 number in cases of emergency.
The preliminary investigation has also indicated that the rise in abusive and prank calls may be attributed to the fact that the 10111 is a toll free number both from privately owned telephones and public call phones.
A serious and urgent appeal is made to the public to make every endeavour not to abuse or allow the 10111 number to be abused. It is for the community's sake and in their interest that this appeal is made.
The SAPS will during the coming months investigate options to address this problem. However, without the help of the community these options will only have a limited impact on the problems.
Should the situation not improve, the SAPS would have to consider approaching the relevant authority to authorise the reversal of the toll free service to a paid service. This would mean charging for calls made from private and public telephones which would in turn exacerbate the plight of needy consumers in time of emergencies. Although this action is direct in contrast with the SAPS policy of reaching out to the community and would not be considered lightly it may be the only way of ensuring an effective and efficient service delivery.
MEDIA INQUIRIES: Superintendent Martin Aylwary: telephone: 082 8000 513