MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay Municipality on Tuesday 16 August celebrated the official opening of its Joint Operation Centre (JOC), focused on creating a safer environment for all communities in the greater Mossel Bay.
Among the attendees were Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Ministers Anton Bredell (Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning), Reagan Allen (Community Safety and Police Oversight), Tertuis Simmers (Infrastructure) as well as Dr Ivan Meyer (Agriculture). Executive mayors and municipal managers of several Garden Route towns were also among the guests.
"The Joint Operation Centre affirms our commitment to growing safety in Mossel Bay. Community Safety is about peace of mind," reads a statement issued by the municipality.
"Here in Mossel Bay we believe in communities taking ownership of their safety. As local governments we help facilitate the necessary partnerships to support communities taking ownership of their safety."
After a construction process of about nine months, the JOC held its soft launch in March this year, whereafter the integration of systems, sourcing, training and placement of staff took place.
In June, the municipality became the first in the Western Cape to train first responders in basic crowd management to assist the police, as part of a community safety contingency plan.
City of Cape Town too has since used the Mossel Bay Municipality's training facility and programme. This multimillion-rand centre acts as a force multiplier to ensure delivery of community safety and security, effective service delivery and the management of information. Departments delivering services at the JOC include provincial traffic, municipal traffic, municipal law enforcement, municipal fire, rescue and disaster management, municipal call centre, neighbourhood watch representatives, the police and Garden Route District Disaster Management.
The centre also has its own Natis system up and running. The municipal telemetry system is also monitored from the centre and a media office has been set up.
The NSRI, EMS, lifesaving component, as well as hostage negotiators, trauma counsellors and a chaplain service can be accessed through the centre.
No less than 200 security camera feeds are currently monitored from the observation centre in the JOC and it has capacity to access 23 000 more country-wide.
The efficiency of the JOC is also harnessed through aerial support, which includes the use of drones and helicopters, the latter in private ownership.
Still in the development phase is the establishment of a dedicated K9 unit and a unit that will specifically deal with land invasion.
Community safety is not a funded mandate of the Mossel Bay Municipality, but through innovation and public-private partnership, the centre was established successfully.
"We are truly proud of this centre which in its essence provides so much added value for residents in all our communities," says the portfolio chairperson for community safety on the mayoral committee, Councillor Leon van Dyk. "There is still much to be done, but the JOC as will serve us well for at least the next 10 years."
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