MEMEZA COMMUNITY SAFETY
INITIATIVE with VISIBILITY
POLICING
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GOAL OF MEMEZA COMMUNITY SAFETY INITIATIVE ................................................................ 3
PROTECTION AND SAFETY AT HOME - MEMEZA HOME COMMUNITY ALARM ........................ 3
HOW THE MHCA WORKS .................................................................................................................................... 4
VALUE OFFERING ................................................................................................................................................ 5
FEATURES THAT MAKE THE MEMEZA COMMUNITY ALARM UNIQUE ............................................................... 5
PROTECTION AND SAFETY OUTSIDE HOME – MEMEZA PERSONAL SAFETY ALARMS .............. 6
WHAT IS A MEMEZA PERSONAL SAFETY ALARM? .............................................................................................. 6
GOAL OF MEMEZA COMMUNITY SAFETY INITIATIVE
To join hands in the eradication of crime by successfully introducing the Memeza Community
based alarm systems that are tailor-made for the low income households and supported by
the well-established and successful Visibility Policing and CPF structures and operations.
The Memeza initiative is in support and aligned to the Gauteng Safety Strategy, Take
Charge campaign and based on community mobilisation. Thus, initiative is aimed at helping
in the rapid reduction of crime in the Province, in areas of household intrusions and Gender
Based Violence.
The initiative is twofold; protection and safety of women in the house, and protection and
safety of women outside of the house.
PROTECTION AND SAFETY AT HOME - MEMEZA HOME COMMUNITY ALARM
The Memeza Home Community Alarm (MHCA) is a community based alarm system that
when triggered, produces a unique siren sound to alert the neighbourhood specially
designed (at the request of Business Against Crime), at the same time flashing a light to
make easy identification of the house in distress, and sending unlimited messages to
neighbours, patrollers, street watches and sector police, while logging all crime statistics to a
private Sector Police database for up to date reporting and audit ability and accountability.
The MHCA can be seen as the first public all-in-one emergency system, also used for fire
and ambulance emergencies.
It is designed to operate as an aid to and in conjunction with the SAPS Visibility Policing, the
system is an industrial innovation achieved by reconfiguring and integrating diverse
technologies to make security features available to a market that has never had access to
them before.
The MHCA is truly a South African Innovation, the following organisations and Universities
contributed their valuable input in coming up with the system features;
 Business Against Crime
 The Civilian Police Secretariat – Partnerships
 The Innovation Hub
 SAB Foundation
 Technology Innovation Agency
 University of Pretoria
 Tshwane University of Technology
 Vaal University of Technology
 Sector Managers in Tembisa
 Jalia Technologies
 Trevor Hollard Designs
 MAMI Alarms
 and the communities of Ebony Park, Tembisa and Ivory Park.
The Memeza concept will further unite, strengthen and empower communities, enabling
them to better collaborate with CPF and Visibility Policing structures, to solve crime and
drive criminals out of their areas.
HOW THE MHCA WORKS
Pressing the panic button activated the unique, three-phase siren to alert neighbors and
Street Patrollers, at the same time sending out alert SMS messages to the cell phones of
the local Sector Police, Street Watches, Patrollers as well as pre-selected family, neighbors
and friends. There is no limit to the number of respondents to be notified.
Intruders will be scared away by the activation of the deafening sound and bright red
flashing light. The alarm will become the voice of the community.
The MHCA will be the link, the bridge between the Sector Police, Street Watches,
neighborhood watch and the house hold under attack.
It will also come in handy in case of domestic violence or old / incapacitated individuals
needing help from members of the community, fire department or ambulance.
MHCA VALUE OFFERING









Is in support of the National Development Plan
Empowers households to drive out crime from their communities
Introduction of household safety for all through funding for those that do not afford
It will be the voice of the people, the bridge between sector policing, street watchers,
neighborhood watch, neighbors and the household under attack. Now everyone will
have a voice to shout with, and be heard
Empower Visibility Policing by giving them something visible and audible to rely on
An aid to Visibility Policing - will be used as a bench mark, which will help in service
delivery improvement
Will complement and alleviate 10111 emergency system
Will highlight the success of Visibility Policing in communities.
Because the system is running from and controlled by a rich intelligent back end
system, additional benefits are:
police incidence management, escalation & accountability, macro scale emergency
services, statistics and reports, police control room possibility, police dashboard
possibility, crime statistics are immediately available, a messaging / broadcasting
centre for the community.
FEATURES THAT MAKE THE MEMEZA COMMUNITY ALARM UNIQUE







First Public All-In-One Emergency System
Help for Children in Distress. It’s simplicity and false alarm protection makes this
alarm ideal for children (5 years and older) in distress
Three Day Battery Life. The unit will work for up to 72 hours without power in the
event of power outages. It can be used in rural areas and solar charged once a
month from a Community Centre
Cell Phone Control Enabled, automated and quick response using Twitter and SMS.
Low Income Household Focus. The price, 3 day battery life, simplicity, robustness
and cell phone control enabled feature, makes MHCA ideal for the South African low
income and informal household market
First Advanced Alarm System Without Password/ Pin, and advanced False Alarm
Protection
The first Pay-as-you go Alarm System with airtime pooling to reduces monthly air
time costs for the alarm owner.




Advanced Alarm Decision Making. The MHCA central server can make advanced
decisions, eg if a number of fire panic alarms are triggered in a certain radius, the
Regional fire station can be informed of a major fire emergency in that suburb.
Flexibility and Enhancements. The majority of MHCA system intelligence lies on a
central server. This makes the system highly configurable and able to enhance alarm
behaviors and functionality over time with new requirements
Portability, stand alone and can detect tampering and reports to owner
Job Creation. Up to 2,675 jobs will be created countrywide. In every township at least
five jobs will be created to install MHCAs (approximately 2,500 countrywide); 175
jobs will be created in the manufacturing, assembly and office personnel.
PROTECTION AND SAFETY OUTSIDE HOME – MEMEZA PERSONAL SAFETY ALARMS
Memeza Shout Crime Prevention NPO was formed out of a strong desire and determination
to provide a solution to the rampant Gender Based Violence in our country. Memeza’s main
objective is to stop the rape, assault and murder of innocent & vulnerable young girls and
women of all ages, including the elderly, through the distribution of Memeza Personal Safety
Alarms to every vulnerable schoolgirl and woman in our country.
It is widely reported that South Africa is the rape capital of the world. The rape, assault and
murder of innocent young girls, women, and even elderly women, make headlines every day
in our country. These criminal acts are the shame of our nation, have devastating lifetime
psychological effects on surviving victims and their families, not to mention the negative
effects on our economy and tourism possibilities. It must stop.
WHAT IS A MEMEZA PERSONAL SAFETY ALARM?
The MeMeZa Personal Safety / Attack Alarm (MPSA) is a trendy, colorful alarm attached to
a key ring, that is kept close at hand around your neck, on your handbag, schoolbag, gym
bag, etc. It is operated by a separate pull pin alarm cord, and if threatened, the cord is easily
pulled, activating a very loud, high-pitched alarm with a sound level of 140 decibels. The
deafening, irritating sound scares the attacker / rapist, and alerts passers-by to the pending
attack.
Memeza Crime Prevention NPO is fundraising & distributing MPSAs to disadvantaged
schoolgirls and other vulnerable groups in townships around Johannesburg.
To launch and kick off the Initiative, the Lottery Board has donated R1.222 686 Million.
With this money 10 000 MPSAs will be distributed to 10 schools in Gauteng; Tembisa,
Diepsloot, Soweto, Eldorado Park and Marabastad during March, with the main launch event
held at The Innovation Hub to officially introduce the Initiative to Government, and all civil
societies and public members involved in fighting crime.
The UK police approved Personal Safety Alarms have been used successfully around the
globe, to combat crime, where they have proven to be a very effective crime deterrent.
The holistic Memeza Community Initiative empowers the entire community, making girls,
women and the elderly feel safer and more secure and confident in their own homes, and
on the streets.
For more Information please contact
Thami Mbele, Partnerships & Community Liaisons’
The Innovation Hub, Tel 011 312 40 76 / 0791295988
www.memeza.co.za