collaboration is for ALL

My last article was about the power of small businesses collaborating for the betterment of both parties.

Of course, collaboration isn’t just applicable for smaller companies!

The power of working together & supporting one another stand out like a shining beacon in the good story ……………………. read on:-

Crime has plummeted in areas of the Joburg CBD, thanks in large part to the

deployment of an organisation named the Forum of Integrated Risk Mitigation (FIRM).

The FIRM is an organisation which partners with multiple businesses that have offices in central Johannesburg to improve the security and safety of everyone living and working in the area.

Partners include the major banks with offices in the CBD, as well as mining companies, taxi operators, property owners, and small business owners.

All of these partners pool their resources and security measures to create a unified security force which can police the Joburg CBD more effectively than these companies could while acting separately.

The FIRM was born out of a crisis. On 28 February 2019, the M2 Bridge into the Joburg CBD was closed, forcing motorists to take routes through the city with more traffic and a higher risk of crimes such as snatch-and-grabs and hijacking.

Banks quickly reacted by imposing curfews on employees and placing private security at strategic points to form safety corridors into and out of the city.

Many of these operations were overseen by the FIRM, which was initially created to deal with the security emergency caused by the bridge closure.

Birth of the FIRM

MyBroadband spoke to FIRM board chairman Wayne Dawson about the organisation’s creation and how it has grown beyond its original vision.

“What I have learnt from the crisis of the M2 Bridge is there are always opportunities, and those are new avenues, new ways of collaboration, and getting more people involved,” Dawson said.

“Before the bridge closed, you were going to be in trouble [when driving through CBD] during the peak times, especially when traffic is grinding to almost a standstill – that’s when you’re at your most vulnerable.”

After the bridge was closed, Dawson said that drivers were vulnerable for the two days immediately afterwards.

“After that, we had our guardians lined up on specific routes and we made sure that they were equipped with a radio to dispatch assistance and help,” he said.

“It was a simple model, a simple strategy, and then we started realising that we can do more. Day one for us was literally just put the bodies down there and move on that space.”

Security guards deployed by the FIRM to deal with the bridge closure were employed by the banks, private security companies, and other businesses in the area.

The organisation’s response saw a significant decline in contact crime, thanks to its use of analytics to determine crime hotspots and the resources it has at its disposal – including armed response teams, widespread CCTV footage, and regular patrols through the city.

“Since February last year when we started, Johannesburg was the number one contact crime capital of South Africa,” Dawson said. “At the end of September we were number eight, so something we did worked.”

 Securing the whole city

The firm’s short-term goal was to deal with the risks posed by the closure of the M2 Bridge.

It’s long-term goals, however, include making the city of Joburg a safer place for all who visit it and possibly expanding the project to other cities.

“At the end of last year, we were approached by the Tswane Metro, Menlyn, Sandton, and the CID,” Dawson said. “They were very interested in our approach and how we collaborate and get things done.”

“They see the value in it and we are thinking of opening different chapters – the Johannesburg chapter, which is running right now, Tswane chapter, Menlyn chapter, Sandton chapter, etc.”

The FIRM aims to work with the municipal government to combine their resources in an effort to curb crime across the entirety of central Johannesburg.

“JMPD has a city-wide camera network system monitored out of Martindale in a centre called the IIOC. They also have a response team,” Dawson said.

“What we are saying is it is time that we collaborate and partner with law enforcement to get that system up and running with better technology and communications integration.”

“From the security services point of view, we are looking at companies that will be able to rent Segway, bicycles, etc., so that we can increase patrols within the city.”

The FIRM also proposed the implementation of a city-wide camera system that would intelligently identify and flag incidents of crime, improving response time and allowing the authorities to make projections based on machine learning and analytics.

Other measures to secure the CBD would involve the building of drone ports on the roofs of businesses in the area, enabling a higher level of information and security over a wider area.

Re-inventing the City of Joburg

In addition to improving the safety of people on the streets, the FIRM is also looking at ways of bringing investment and shoppers to the CBD area.

“We are actually in collaboration with the City to start looking at repurposing some of our roads in the CBD,” Dawson said. “There are just too many vehicular traffic roads and too little walkable pedestrian safe routes.”

“This is where we are going to revitalise the city by establishing food bodegas and restaurants in full-on street levels. We are going to give it a South Africa feel and make our cities look like nobody else’s.”

“Every client that walks in the city spends money in the city.”

Dawson said the FIRM recognised the help it has received from CBD residents and businesses, and he called on businesses to join the initiative to improve the Joburg CBD.

“We used a lot of influence and intelligence from the ground and we must say thank you to every Joburg citizen that works, lives, breathes, and operates in the CoJ for helping us and assisting us with a lot of intelligence,” Dawsons said.

“The streets belong to us, and it is time that we took those streets back. Crime cannot prevail.”

Before he stepped down as mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba thanked businesses for coming on board to help clean up the city.

“I’m happy that even though I’m leaving, initiatives like the inner city rejuvenation programme will continue beyond my presence and improve the lives of residents across the City of Johannesburg,” he said at a briefing hosted by the FIRM.

The power of collaboration……………………