Hoax Calls Overshadow 107 Emergency Calls | Western Cape Government

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Hoax Calls Overshadow 107 Emergency Calls

7 September 2005
The majority of calls to the City's 107 emergency number are nuisance calls. Some 80 % of calls are made by pranksters.

The highest call volumes were registered in December 2004 and January this year, the City's Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security heard at a briefing this week. Between January last year and April 2005 the five months between September and January proved to be the busiest in call volumes.

Cllr David Erleigh, Mayoral Committee Member and Chairperson of the Committee on Safety and Security, said the service levels of the Emergency Call Centre are of international standard.

"The three digit number (107) provides easy and fast access to the City's emergency network. Calls are answered within ten seconds, 24 hours per day, seven days a week. We can help people in any of the three official languages in the Western Cape, namely Afrikaans, isiXhosa and English.

"Emergency calls cover a wide number of incidents, ranging from fires at properties, vehicles, bush and grass to medical and crime emergencies. Non-emergency calls include pleas for help regarding utility services such as water, electricity and sewerage as well as road side assistance and illegal land invasions.

"Most of the calls come in between 11:00 (11am) and 21:00 (9pm), peaking between 13:00 (1pm) and 15:00 (3pm)," says Cllr Erleigh.

The City has budgeted over R9 million in the current financial year to operate the 107 Emergency Call Centre.

"In our quest for better service delivery we have embarked on several public education and awareness projects. These are aimed at making the public aware of which number to call in an emergency, as well as to reduce prank calls.

"The projects are designed to reach people through community events, libraries, shopping malls and direct mail," says Cllr Erleigh.

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