10111: ‘An emergency number that people cannot reliably reach’

Nearly 1.8 million calls to South Africa's emergency police line, 10111, were abandoned during the 2025-26 financial year, according to a parliamentary reply. This alarming figure, representing roughly 20% of all calls, has sparked concerns about the reliability of this crucial service and the broader implications for public safety.

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia acknowledged that staffing levels at the Saps call centres were "severely inadequate", leading to significant numbers of emergency calls going unanswered. The department attributed the abandoned calls to excessive waiting times, callers hanging up prematurely, and system disconnections. However, the figures expose significant flaws in the emergency policing response system, raising questions about accountability and management oversight within the South African Police Service (Saps).

Ian Cameron, chair of parliament's portfolio committee on police, emphasized the crisis's impact on public safety, stating that an unreliable emergency number puts lives at risk. He called for a comprehensive recovery plan addressing staffing shortages, technical failures, and management issues, including monthly performance reports and consequences for failures to handle emergency calls.

Criminologist Witness Maluleke of the University of Limpopo warned that abandoned calls contribute to the country's "dark figure of crime," undermining the police service's responsibility to protect communities and potentially invalidating official crime statistics. Security expert Willem Els called for a complete overhaul of the 10111 system, emphasizing that it should return to its original model of providing a centralised emergency contact point while incorporating technological improvements.