{"id":574247,"date":"2024-12-05T09:08:55","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T07:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=574247"},"modified":"2024-12-05T09:09:01","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T07:09:01","slug":"gauteng-fighting-crime-using-a-smartphone-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/574247-gauteng-fighting-crime-using-a-smartphone-app.html","title":{"rendered":"Gauteng fighting crime using a smartphone app"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Gauteng e-Panic Button app has accumulated over 50,000 downloads to Android smartphones, while the Gauteng Provincial Government’s rollout of physical panic buttons has surpassed 80,000 units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband asked the Gauteng Provincial Government for an update on its e-Panic Button app and whether it was proving useful in its crime-fighting efforts, but it hadn’t answered our questions by publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app provides immediate assistance from emergency services and is free for all Gauteng residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Users can call for help discretely with a single tap of the panic button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent statement<\/a>, Bonginkosi Dhlamini, MEC for eGovernment, Research, and Development, called for more residents to download the app, saying it has life-saving potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Gauteng e-Panic Button is a testament to the progress made by the provincial government to create a safer environment for everyone in the province, and by downloading and using this App, you can protect yourself and your loved ones in times of emergency,” said Dhlamini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This initiative offers both a physical device and an electronic version as an App. It is not just a tool, it’s a lifeline.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gauteng Provincial Government officially launched<\/a> the e-Panic Button app in May 2024 as part of its broader crime-fighting strategy, following a pilot launch in April 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the official launch, it had accumulated roughly 8,000 downloads, most of which were to nurses’ and teachers’ smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app has now accumulated over 50,000 downloads through the Google Play Store, and while it is also available on iOS, the App Store doesn’t specify download numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the launch, the Gauteng Provincial Government said it also wants to hand out 100,000 physical buttons to members of the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Safety is a shared responsibility. We need the community to be actively involved in these initiatives, to be the eyes and ears on the ground,” said Gauteng MEC for Community Safety Faith Mazibuko.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The e-Panic Button is a crucial step forward, but its success depends on the community’s engagement and trust.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dhlamini also provided an update on the rollout of physical panic buttons, of which over 80,000 had been distributed as of 2 December 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

e-Panic button app tested<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband tested the Gauteng e-Panic button app in late August 2024, and we were impressed with the user experience and app’s performance<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initial impressions were good, with the app holding an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 on the Google Play Store. The download consumed roughly 108MB of data and took up around 208MB of storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The setup process is fairly straightforward, requiring users to enter a phone number to receive a one-time PIN via SMS for verification. Users must then enter a name, surname, and email address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Users must also grant the app permission to access the location, motion, and notification functions on their phones, the reasoning for which is explained clearly during the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once set up, users are presented with a home page, which has three large buttons: Report a Crime, Medical Emergencies, and Activate Armed Response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selecting the Report a Crime button presents a page where the user must enter the type of crime they witnessed, a brief description, and images of the alleged crime, if possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our testing of the Medical Emergencies and Activate Armed Response services was very impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We tapped the medical emergency response option at around 19:23 on a Sunday in Pretoria, and immediately received an SMS notification confirming the request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within seconds, we received an incoming call from the response control room. We explained that we had accidentally pushed the button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We then tested the Activate Armed Response button on a Tuesday morning. We quickly received an SMS confirming the request, and the response room operator called within five seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both cases, the operators were clearly audible and professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The free app is available to all of the province’s residents and the Gauteng Provincial Government is urging people to download the app.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341076,"featured_media":466617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[98099,98100,92657,96806,20057],"class_list":["post-574247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","tag-armed-response","tag-bonginkosi-dhlamini","tag-e-panic-button","tag-gauteng-e-panic-button","tag-gauteng-provincial-government-gpg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574247"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341076"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=574247"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":574410,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574247\/revisions\/574410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}