Derrick
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South Africa’s emergency call centre, 10111, was offline for 6 hours on Friday night and according to the SAPS cable theft was to blame.
From 6pm to midnight the R600-million digital radio network was down.
According to The Star: “Police officers were unable get basic assistance from the call centre, such as verifying licence plate numbers of suspected stolen cars, or asking for crime scene experts to attend a murder scene.”
“The system crash also meant that members of the public were unable to get through to the 10111 emergency number for more than an hour – until police opened up the Benoni call centre.”
The cause of this chaos was laid at Telkom’s doorstep and according to Gauteng police spokesperson Superintendent Tumi Nkhwashu it was due to cable theft.
Police officers were told to use Vodacom’s emergency call centre on 112 for help.
But the worst part is that this is not an isolated incident.
“Police officers who spoke to The Star said this wasn’t the first time the police’s digital network had crashed. They said the system goes down at least two or three times a month.”
The official response however is that this is the first time it has happened.
“While Telkom was busy fixing the problem, arrangements were made with North Rand band to assist,” Nkhwashu said to The Star.
But officers questioned the police’s explanation.
“If the Telkom line is down, why would the computer system also go down?” an officer asked.
From 6pm to midnight the R600-million digital radio network was down.
According to The Star: “Police officers were unable get basic assistance from the call centre, such as verifying licence plate numbers of suspected stolen cars, or asking for crime scene experts to attend a murder scene.”
“The system crash also meant that members of the public were unable to get through to the 10111 emergency number for more than an hour – until police opened up the Benoni call centre.”
The cause of this chaos was laid at Telkom’s doorstep and according to Gauteng police spokesperson Superintendent Tumi Nkhwashu it was due to cable theft.
Police officers were told to use Vodacom’s emergency call centre on 112 for help.
But the worst part is that this is not an isolated incident.
“Police officers who spoke to The Star said this wasn’t the first time the police’s digital network had crashed. They said the system goes down at least two or three times a month.”
The official response however is that this is the first time it has happened.
“While Telkom was busy fixing the problem, arrangements were made with North Rand band to assist,” Nkhwashu said to The Star.
But officers questioned the police’s explanation.
“If the Telkom line is down, why would the computer system also go down?” an officer asked.