The South African Police Service needs support from government, business and especially communities, to report criminals and criminal activities.
A concerned parent in a rural area, for example, phoned the police's Crime Stop number to report a father who had been sexually abusing his 13-year-old daughter since she was 9 years old.
Police investigated the case. The father was arrested, found guilty and given a life sentence. The girl was saved from further abuse and her life changed forever. It all started with a call to the Crime Stop telephone number, 08600 10111.
Communities
It is with this number that the South African Police Service is asking communities to ACT. The police use the word ACT to encourage communities to act against crime together by reporting criminal activities to them.
The word comes from the letters A for Against, C for Crime and T for Together.
Crime Stop is made up of many call centres that get information about criminals and their activities from you - the public.
Trained staff
Trained staff at the call centres will ask you some questions before you give any information to the police. You don't have to give your name or any identification. No number identification or other information that can be used to trace you is allowed
at Crime Stop.
When you call, you will get a reference number that you can use if you want to make a follow-up call about the case.
The Crime Stop number 08600 10111 is different from 10111.
The number 10111 must only be used in emergencies by victims of crime asking for help and when a crime has been committed and police presence is needed, or by witnesses to a crime reporting an emergency.
Both the Crime Stop number and 10111 operate 24 hours a day.
- Ndivhuwo Khangale
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