Sweet surprise for call centre staff

16 May 2020

Staff at the City of Cape Town's Public Emergency Communication Centre (PECC) have taken more than 70 000 calls in 50 days and received a token of appreciation earlier today when the Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith, paid a surprise visit to the centre.

‘The PECC is the single point of entry to all the City's safety and security services and during this unprecedented time of a global pandemic, we rely even more on the men and women who take calls from residents in need,' said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

The centre has an operational staff complement of 67, with 15 call takers and two shift managers per team. This is to ensure a minimum staffing level of 14 staff members for the day shifts and 12 for the night shifts.

‘The centre provides a one stop shop for emergencies. Callers are often panicked, injured, in pain and when they call the centre, they connect with a trained person who can deal with the situation and direct calls. From 26 March until 14 May our centre staff have fielded 71 152 calls. Of these, 12 583 were related to by-law infringements of residents not observing the lockdown, crowd control and non-compliance complaints,' said Alderman Smith.

The visit to the centre earlier today was not only a personal note of thanks, but staff also received a sweet treat in the form of cupcakes.

'The women and men answering calls are our first line of response when residents have an emergency and they've been on duty before the lockdown, during and will continue to be here when needed. They provide an invaluable service behind the scenes and we cannot thank them enough for their dedication,’ said Alderman Smith.

The PECC first started operating as the centralised hub for emergency calls to City emergency services on 1 August 2000. Call takers are also able to reroute calls to external agencies like Metro Emergency Medical Services and the South African Police Service.

In an emergency, dial 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline, and your requests will be distributed to the relevant emergency service providers including fire and rescue, police, traffic service or ambulance.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office