Police contact centre on track

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 08 Jun 2007

The police say its new R600 million 10111 contact centre, at Grand Central in Midrand, is on track for commissioning in the next few months. Gauteng police director Mac Mclachlan says the system is "on time, on budget" and will replace six antiquated contact centres in the province.

Meanwhile, the SA National Road Agency Limited (Sanral) is commissioning an expanded i-traffic system to monitor Gauteng's highways from a command post in Midrand. Both Sanral and the police expect the two centres to become interoperable in due course. Mclachlan says a liaison officer will probably be placed at Sanral as an interim solution.

State-of-the-art

The new 10111 centre employs state-of-the-art technology, including a digital trunking system in the place of analogue. It will use Tetra to communicate with police in the field and will also be able to track and monitor the whereabouts of every operational police vehicle deployed in the province.

He adds that current personnel are being retrained to operate the new systems that will also be able to track and trace complainants who phone for assistance or help. New personnel are also undergoing training.

Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa, in his February State of the Province address, said technology would be deployed in the present year to improve policing. He said R600 million has been set aside to build and equip the "world-class police emergency response centre" in Midrand.

"We are expecting the new centre to become operational during July 2007 and are confident it will make a substantial contribution to police service delivery in Gauteng," he said.

Shilowa noted the latest technology would be introduced to ensure each emergency call is attended to as quickly as possible. This includes the introduction of satellite tracking devices in all police emergency response vehicles and radios.

i-Traffic solutions

Meanwhile, Sanral toll and traffic manager Alex van Niekerk says the Midrand centre will shortly improve its coverage of Gauteng highways from a 30km stretch to 180km. Sanral has also just awarded a R25 million contract for 44 more electronic signboards to signal road conditions and news of accidents, roadworks, as well as congestion, to motorists.

Another decongestant on the verge of introduction, at least on Samrand and New roads, in Midrand, is traffic metering. This will allow Sanral to pace the flow of traffic onto the highway, a measure that has been proved to ease flow.

Turning to the cameras, Van Niekerk said the extended network from the N1/N14 confluence in Centurion, along the Pretoria N1 eastern bypass to the N4 highway and a stretch of the N4 itself, will be operational by the end of this month.

The same applies to cameras along the N1 in Johannesburg, between Hans Strijdom road and the Buccleuch interchange. Cameras recently installed along parts of Johannesburg's southern highways - the N3 and N12 - will be brought online in September.