News24 | ‘Uber for security’: SaferCity Panic App offers fast access to emergency response

Residents outside Kliptown Police Station. SaferCity has deployed in the 14 Soweto police stations. (Photo used for illustration purposes).

• The SaferCity Panic App includes panic assistance, real-time tracking, crime reporting, crime hotspot alerts, and support for gender-based violence victims.
• The app funds local CPF structures with a portion of subscriptions, boosting resources like cameras and patrols to enhance safety.
• Deployed in Gauteng’s Soweto, SaferCity has significantly reduced incidents like cellphone tower vandalism while providing fast, direct access to emergency responders.

A leading safety and technology solutions provider aims to make South Africa safer through its innovative application.

SaferCity Panic App is a unique technology platform that seeks to unite private security, law enforcement, community police forums, and to provide emergency response, intelligence, and networking.

Launched in 2023, the app is designed to empower users with a tool that allows them to swiftly request medical and emergency assistance and report crime.

SaferCity CEO Theo Pouroullis described the app as “an Uber for security”, as it allows its customers to have access to the nearest emergency responder in the event they find themselves in a distressing situation.

“For example, we had an incident where a client of ours had a contractor who was fixing a gate on the client’s property, and the contractor grinded off two of his fingers. Our client pressed the panic button and the ambulance was there within 15 minutes,” said Pouroullis.

He said the app was not only limited to medical emergencies but extended to other features.

Pouroullis said the app includes a funding mechanism for local CPFs where a fraction of every subscription is donated to the CPF structures.

“At a cost of R4.35/user per month, some 10 000 users for a specific area could enable the CPF to receive R43 500 per month in funding. This covers the development of the Joint Operations Command Centre of the CPF for the Gauteng province and, in certain areas, the acquisition of additional cameras to monitor flagged vehicles using licence plate recognition cameras and tamper devices for electrical infrastructure,” he said.

Pouroullis said there were three devices that accompany the app, which include a smartwatch that allows clients to push the panic or SOS button.

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Recently, Pouroullis said they rescued a client who was kidnapped during a hijacking in Gauteng’s East Rand after they received an alert.

“There was a vehicle that was hijacked, and they took the driver to an illegal mining area on the East Rand. Our guys were able to intercept (the criminals), and we caught one suspect. The other two fled. It was in the middle of the night. But we rescued the driver. It was an express kidnapping that took place,” he said.

The Gauteng CPF board chairperson, TJ Masilela, said the partnership with SaferCity has yielded success over the past year, and they have seen a decrease in some crime categories.

Masilela said:

He said CPF members found the app convenient as it gave communities direct access to emergency responders.