Leading provider of safety and security technology solutions SaferCity, in a strategic partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board (GPCPB) recently launched its groundbreaking SaferCity Panic App at the Da Vinci Hotel, in Sandton. The event was well attended by various stakeholders and community policing forums (CPFs) from across Gauteng. This collaboration aims to enhance safety and emergency response services for residents and visitors across the country. 

The SaferCity Panic App is designed to empower individuals with a powerful tool to request medical and emergency assistance and report crime quickly and efficiently. 

Key features of the SaferCity app include: 

• Panic and medical response: Immediate assistance at your fingertips in times of crisis.
• Real-time location tracking: Keep a vigilant eye on your loved ones’ whereabouts.
• Crime reporting: Report incidents swiftly to contribute to a safer community and to create a database of crime activity. 
• Crime hotspots indicator: When driving through areas with a high number of reported crimes, the app will warn you to be extra vigilant.
• Help desk with live chat: Users have direct access to their CPF through the app. 
• Gender-based violence (GBV) helpdesk: Receive vital support and swift responses operated by the TEARS Foundation, an award winning GBV and support organisation.
• Responders at your fingertips: Your local patrollers include over 2 500 responders throughout South Africa and medical response from organisations such as Netcare 911, ER24, Medi Response and others within the network.  

SaferCity CEO Theo Pouroullis expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, saying, “We are excited to work alongside the Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board to launch the App.” 

The app includes a funding mechanism for your local CPF where every subscription would mean a donation back to the CPF structures. At a cost of R4.35/user per month, some 10 000 users for a specific area could enable the CPF to receive R43 500 pm in funding. This would cover the development of the Joint Operations Command Centre (JOC) of the CPF for the Gauteng Province and, in certain areas, the acquisition of additional cameras to monitor flagged vehicles using License Plate Recognition cameras and tamper devices for electrical infrastructure, amongst others. The pilot project for this has run successfully and has already made an impact in reducing crime and catching criminals by our partners in the network. The SaferCity partnership is currently onboarding Community in Blue CPF patrollers to augment the existing 2 500 responders on the network to increase information gathering and response support in communities.

“This partnership reflects our shared commitment to making Gauteng and our country a safer city, and a safer South Africa,” says Pouroullis.

Gauteng Provincial Board PRO Nehson Pillay advised, “The integration of the SaferCity technology into the Gauteng Provincial JOC is set to align to the gathering of information on crime patterns and to use those effectively through e-policing, and changing the way policing operates to increase successes against the fight against crime.”

GPCPB chairperson TJ Masilela commented, “The SaferCity Panic App is a game-changer in public safety. It aligns perfectly with our mission to enhance community policing efforts and to keep our communities safe.”

The SaferCity Panic App is available for download on Android, iOS and Huawei platforms. SaferCity and GPCPB invites everyone to download the app and become active participants in improving public safety.

For media inquiries or more information about the SaferCity Panic App, please contact SaferCity’s PRO Marlene McKay marlenem@safercity.co.za

The SaferCity App subscription is only R35 per month per user and family and corporate subscriptions are available.