Over the 12 months to August 31, Business Against Crime South Africa’s (Bacsa’s) Eyes and Ears (E2) initiative has been instrumental in achieving 2 581 arrests across a range of serious crimes, along with the recovery of more than 3 030 stolen or hijacked vehicles.

Over the past year, the initiative has also led to the confiscation of more than 110 unlicensed firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition. It has also played a crucial part in the prevention of numerous crimes, including incidents at schools, shopping centres, public unrest and serious violent crimes.

The E2 has also maintained a strategic collaboration with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to disrupt criminal syndicates involved in extortion, kidnapping and corruption.

HOW THE E2 INITIATIVE WORKS

When a crime incident is spotted by an E2 member company’s patrol team, control room or camera network, the crime information is sent in real time to Bacsa’s National Monitoring and Control Centre.

From there, it is verified and immediately shared with the SAPS National Operational Command Centre and all nine SAPS Provincial Operational Command Centres (POCCs).

This process means that police are alerted to incidents they might otherwise only discover later or not at all, enabling them to respond faster, recover stolen property and arrest suspects while crimes are still in progress.

With more than 470 approved private security companies and more than 18 000 automatic number plate recognition cameras, E2 is one of the largest crime-spotting networks in the country.

“E2 is transforming crime fighting in South Africa. By leveraging private-sector patrols, cameras and control rooms, we are giving SAPS an extra set of ‘eyes and ears’ across the country – ensuring they get real-time crime information they would not otherwise have.

“This partnership saves lives, recovers property and builds public confidence that crime is being actively confronted,” Bacsa CEO Dr Graham Wright says.

He adds that E2 membership continues to expand, and that, with each new partner, the network becomes stronger, faster and more effective.

“Private-sector support is absolutely critical to the success of E2. Not only do private security companies supply the crime information that drives operational responses, but many have also provided direct assistance in placing controllers in the POCCs.

“This partnership ensures that information flows quickly and accurately, allowing SAPS to act in near real-time,” Wright says.