AfriForum demands answers on SAPS 10111 failures as millions of emergency calls go unanswered
AfriForum has submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to the South African Police Service (SAPS), seeking answers about persistent failures in the 10111 emergency call-centre system, including abandoned calls, staffing shortages, system outages and plans to transition to the national 112 emergency number.
The request follows years of reported problems with the service, which is often the first point of contact for people facing an immediate threat to their lives, homes or property. The scale of the problem is reflected in figures previously disclosed by SAPS. In a parliamentary answer from the then Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, in May 2024 it was stated that approximately 14.9 million calls had been abandoned across 11 of the country’s 19 call centres for 10111 since the 2018/19 financial year.
These calls represented 26.2% of the 56.99 million calls recorded by those centres over the period. The figures were incomplete: eight centres could not provide the necessary data because of problems with their telephone-management systems, while information was unavailable for Limpopo and the Northern Cape.
SAPS’s 2023/24 annual report also recorded a national average abandoned-call rate of 26.44%. Some centres recorded average response times ranging from 8 to 35 minutes. The report identified ineffective management and inadequate capacity at 10111 centres as a material irregularity, warning that the shortcomings could prevent emergency incidents from being attended to effectively and cause substantial harm to the public.
Staffing figures have raised further concerns. Parliamentary information reported in 2024 indicated that, on average, only 41.31% of required positions at 10111 centres were filled. At the time, Queenstown in the Eastern Cape had filled only 8.2% of its required posts, while Welkom in the Free State recorded an abandoned-call rate of 64.6% among the calls for which data was available.
“These are not simply administrative shortcomings or inconvenient waiting times. When someone is being attacked, a family is facing a home invasion or a person is reporting a hijacking, the ability to reach the police can be a matter of life and death,” says Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s Chief Spokesperson for Community Safety.
“Millions of abandoned calls should prompt serious questions about whether citizens can reliably access emergency police assistance when they need it most. The fact that some centres could not even provide complete call data raises further concerns about oversight, monitoring and accountability.”
AfriForum’s PAIA request seeks records covering call volumes and abandoned calls, waiting and response times, staffing levels, technical failures, caller-location capabilities and investigations into specific incidents. It also seeks information about the state of the systems supporting 10111 and the plans, timelines and readiness assessments for transitioning to 112.
Recent reporting has raised additional concerns about ageing technology. In September 2026, reporting on information supplied by the Acting Police Minister, Firoz Cachalia, indicated that approximately R19.3 million had been spent on the GEMC3 and Mobile Data System supporting 10111 over five financial years, while the principal systems had not been modernised or replaced during that period. The Cisco telephony infrastructure was reported to have reached end-of-life and end-of-support status.
Government policy has directed a transition towards 112 as the national emergency number. AfriForum believes that any transition must be supported by a clear implementation plan, reliable technology, adequately trained personnel and transparent performance measures.
“Changing the number people dial will not, by itself, resolve problems with staffing, outdated systems or the handling of emergency calls. Citizens need assurance that the system behind the number works. A new number must not simply become a new point of failure,” Broodryk says.
AfriForum will assess the information received through the PAIA process and consider appropriate further steps to promote accountability and improvements to the emergency call-centre service.
“People who call 10111 are often frightened and vulnerable. They should not have to wonder whether their call will be answered, whether their location will be established or whether help will arrive. SAPS must provide clear answers about the failures and demonstrate what is being done to prevent them,” Broodryk concludes.
