Civilians man 10111 police hotline
Personnel manning the 10111 police hotline are civilians and not police officers.
That’s the response from the SAP KZN media centre after an outcry from the Community Crime Prevention Organisation and the public last week after police took more than 45 minutes to respond to a murder in Athlone Park.
Edda Jumaima Botha was murdered in her Ilanda Road home in the early hours of Saturday morning, 16 November. The first call to radio control was logged by the Blue Security control room at 2.06am, yet Toti SAP only received the complaint transmitted after 2.47am.
“The call takers in the 10111 centre are Public Service Act personnel and the supervisors are police officers,” said Colonel Jay Naicker of the media centre. “Functional police officers are being used for operational duties.”
According to Naicker, when a complaint is received it is recorded by the call taker and a station patrol vehicle is dispatched to the complaint by radio dispatchers who are also public service act personnel. “The complaint in question was followed up and the complaint was dispatched immediately on receipt.”
