Emergency call centre damaged

Johannesburg - An electrical surge caused by a storm has left an emergency call centre in Midrand with broken control systems, affecting police response times, it was reported on Thursday.

Two weeks after the storm damage, power had still not been properly restored, and the centre was reliant on generators that did not produce sufficient power, The Times reported.

Control-room staff were forced to take down call details by hand and use hand-held radios.

A police reservist told the newspaper he was at his wits’ end because the fault was delaying police response times and it was almost impossible to respond to emergencies. He said nothing had been done to correct the situation.

“People's lives depend on us, but because of the time it takes to get information, we often arrive late,” he said.

A member of Gauteng's flying squad described the Midrand system as “wonderful - when it works”.

“Now operators have to write everything down, which is tedious.” - Sapa