OSF- SA Project Evaluation Workshop
November 7, 2022
Student dialogue: Coastal college, A Salam Campus
November 10, 2022
Corruption Watch (CW), in response to the many whistle-blower complaints it has received on police corruption, and inspired by its engagements with communities experiencing police violence and abuse, today launches an interactive open data tool – Veza (a colloquial term for ‘reveal’ or ‘expose’). The first of its kind in South Africa, Veza improves transparency in policing in the country, and places the power to hold the South African Police Service (SAPS) accountable in the hands of the public.
The Democracy Development Program partnered with CW in order to deliver information sessions with community organizations, policing forums and other activists in communities across the greater eThekwini region.
The stand-out advantage of this innovative tool is its ability to equip a wide range of people, from researchers, journalists, activists and communities to the public at large, with the knowledge and insight to demand better and more accountable policing.
The Veza tool provides information at national, provincial and district level. It features interactive maps of police corruption trends and hotspots, information relating to the public’s rights when encountering the police in various situations, and data on all 1 150 police stations across the country, such as locations, resources, budget and personnel. It also enables users to rate and review police stations based on personal experiences, to compare resources of up to four stations, to commend honest and ethical police officers, and to report incidents of corruption and police misconduct that are immediately geo-located through the tool.
