He is on a mission to ensure the CBD stays safe for its residents and visitors, and his work includes the use of ground-breaking technology to reduce crime in the city centre of one of the world’s most popular cities. Here’s how its helping the CCID head of Safety & Security, Muneeb “Mo” Hendricks, do his job.
At the crack of dawn, you can be sure that Mo Hendricks is already reviewing what’s gone down in the CBD the night before on the CCID’s internal monitoring system. It’s something he does as a matter of course.
Using state-of-the-art technology is key to the success of the CCID’s Safety & Security department. Mo believes that, combined with the right relationships and partnerships, technology is a powerful way to improve his department’s performance and measure its impact.
This is evidenced by the CCID’s world-class approach, for example, being the first city improvement district in the country to equip its Public Safety Officers with body-worn cameras.
The CCID has also implemented a system to electronically log every call, incident, report and complaint. That data is plotted on a map of the CCID’s four precincts (which span 1.6 square kilometres) to show where crime is occurring. The system sends real-time alerts by way of SMS and email, and that information is communicated directly to officers on the ground.
“We have a 24-hour call centre which the public can use to send WhatsApp messages, voice notes and images. Together with our intel, we disseminate exact information to our officers. So, there’s no more speculation and gaps in important information,” Mo says.
The CCID works with its primary partners, namely SAPS and the City of Cape Town Law Enforcement, offering top-up services to help keep the city safe. “Police and Law Enforcement are underresourced, but we have capacity, so we act as a bolster for resources, in conjunction with our own tactics to ensure that people abide by the law,” he explains.
Mo believes that the key to a safe city is eliminating the opportunity to commit crime. His overriding strategy focuses on prevention which, in part, means proactively addressing minor offences.
“Eliminating crime is everybody’s business,” he says. “And I’ve taken personal responsibility, as well as being a part of my team, to ensure that every stakeholder is engaged in the dialogue and initiatives to improve the safety of the city centre.”
Note: This article was first published in the Summer 2019-20 issue of City Views.
IMAGES: Ed Suter