A JOINT effort against crime, encompassing police, ET Rapid Response and other organisations, officially kicked off at Amanzimtoti police station, where the Station Operational Command Centre (SOCC) was launched on October 1.

Also read: Body found at Pipeline Beach, Amanzimtoti

SOCC forms part of the Eyes and Ears (E2) initiative between Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA), police, private security and other community crime and safety organisations.

Its goal lies firmly in curbing crime, and according to Eugene Engelbrecht of ET Rapid Response, involves relaying pertinent crime-related information from the ground level to police in a consistent, authentic and accountable way.

“In essence, SOCC’s directive is to improve the police’s situational awareness and, in turn, improve responses to incidents and assist to co-ordinate resources with first responders, who are partners of the E2 initiative. SOCC will be part of the greater E2 network in KZN, where a similar set-up of professional dedicated controllers are at the police’s provincial office, known as KZNOCC,” explained Engelbrecht.

He added that partners of E2 have agreed to work in a collaborative, non-competitive way, to achieve the objective of fighting crime jointly.

Amanzimtoti police communications officer Captain Charlene van der Spuy encouraged organisations to join the initiative to make concerted efforts in assisting police in the fight against crime.

“The management of Amanzimtoti police would like to extend our sincerest gratitude and appreciation to our local ET Armed Response Unit who partnered with BACSA in driving the E2 Project in our area,” said Van der Spuy.

Area of operation

SOCC will assist in both the urban and rural Amanzimtoti areas, thereby bolstering local police efforts across all parts of the community. The overarching idea is to safeguard the community at large.

How does E2 work

• E2 focuses on translating private sector sightings into police action, and has effected over 2 500 arrests, 3 000 recovered stolen or hijacked vehicles, and the confiscation of over 100 unlicensed firearms in the past year.
• When a crime incident is spotted by an E2 member company’s patrol team, control room, or camera network, the crime information is sent in real time to BACSA’s national monitoring and control centre. Thereafter, it is verified and shared with the police’s national operating command centre, and all nine provincial operational command centres.

“E2 is transforming crime fighting in South Africa by leveraging private-sector patrols, cameras, and control rooms. We are giving police an extra set of ‘eyes and ears’ across the country, with the aim to actively confront and prevent crime, save lives and recover property,” said Dr Graham Wright, CEO of BACSA.

He emphasised the importance of private sector support to the success of E2 and added that membership continues to expand, making the network stronger, faster and more effective.

BACSA extended its sincere appreciation to all E2 partners for their commitment, collaboration, and dedication, often at personal cost, to building a safer country for every citizen.

Get in touch

To get in touch with SOCC, contact Eugene Engelbrecht on 078 289 3113. Alternatively, contact Amanzimtoti police on 082 624 5250.

Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.