The centre positioned at the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police office is the first to be launched in the country and is expected to provide services countrywide
Dar es Salaam. Home Affairs minister Mathias Chikawe yesterday launched a police-public call centre aimed at enhancing communication between the two sides in times of emergency as well as curb crimes by reporting cases before they happen.
The centre positioned at the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police office is the first to be launched in the country and is expected to provide services countrywide.
Speaking after the launching ceremony, Mr Chikawe called upon the police to avoid being too harsh to the public when they communicate for the intended goal of the centre to be achieved.
“I call upon the police to cooperate with the public because people become frightened whenever they hear harsh words from you,” he said.
According to the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander, Mr Suleiman Kova, the centre can keep records and send emails and is connected to 12 headsets which allow a large number of phone calls to be received at a time.
“The launch of the call centre will enhance communication as well as improve the relationship between police and the public,” he said.
The launch of the centre which has been funded by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) means that the public will now be able to dial 110 for accidents in the sea and all the lakes in the country as well as 113 and 114 for reports of corruption and fire respectively.
In his remarks, the deputy TCRA director, Dr Joseph Kilongola, said considering the growing number of crime incidents as well as improvement of technology, TCRA had seen that there was a need for a platform to connect the public and the police.
