New app allows Cape Town residents to report crime

VS

Vicky Stark

21 April 2026 | 10:04

`I'm all for this. If there's a way to actually do this and have a response without having to sit on your phone for hours trying to get through to them, that's great,' said Friedman.

New app allows Cape Town residents to report crime

Man cellphone phone

People can now report certain crimes and by-law infringements on the City of Cape Town's new mobile phone app.
Speaking to CapeTalk's Clarence Ford about this new feature, Primedia's Digital Content Editor Barbara Friedman, explained how it works: "There's a section on the app that allows you to report an incident. And then when you go onto that section, you click in the search bar at the top and it has 17 categories of incidents that you can report. 
"They're obviously saying there are going to be some categories that aren't there. But of the 17 you can report metal theft, poaching, dog barking, graffiti, liquor trading, noise nuisance, squatting camping structures, abandoned motor vehicles, keeping of bees and snakes, public indecency... the list goes on."
If it is a category that is not on the app, people can call the Public Emergency Communication Centre number on 021 480 7700.
Friedman highlighted some of the benefits of this new functionality developed by the Safety and Security Directorate: "It uses minimal data in case you're worried about that and the City's hoping to make it a free-use app in the future. And all reports are automatically geolocated and routed to the relevant City department."
The app already has a section where you can submit a service request for things like water incidents in your road. And the new crime reporting functionality is "an interesting new development", she said.
"I'm all for this. If there's a way to actually do this and have a response without having to sit on your phone for hours trying to get through to them, that's great!"
The City of Cape Town's mobile app is available at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
To listen to the full discussion, click the media player above.

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