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ICT

New tool to fight police corruption

In response to the many complaints received on
police corruption, Corruption Watch (CW) has
developed a new Veza platform that will improve

transparency in policing in the country. It will
place the power back in the hands of the public
to hold the South African Police Service (SAPS)
accountable. (https://www.veza.org.za/)

Kavisha Pillay Nick Durrant
orruption Watch (CW) selected Bluegrass Digital, an
innovative software engineering company, to develop
Cthe new Veza platform. The new Veza tool funding was
made possible by CW’s selection at the end of 2018 as one and the team is continually working to address the current gaps in
of four winners of the Google Impact Challenge, which aimed information from specific provinces, districts and individual police
to encourage local innovators to solve a social problem using stations by applying pressure to the necessary bodies to disclose
technology. The support from this grant and other donors the relevant information, which is in the public interest.
enabled the CW team to develop an idea to address the specific Bluegrass Digital CEO Nick Durrant is upbeat about the
problem of police misconduct and abuse of power. potential of this innovative tool. "This is an exciting, innovative
This new interactive open data tool was inspired by project to be part of as it has so much potential. Nothing like this
engagements with communities experiencing police violence exists on the African continent and from our research, not many
and was developed in response to the many complaints countries around the world have platforms for their citizens to
received on police corruption. access information like this.
Veza, meaning ‘expose’ or ‘reveal’, is a first of its kind in “We have built the tool as a web-based application which
South Africa and will improve transparency in policing in the runs as a separate microsite linked from Corruption Watch,
country. It will place the power back in the hands of the public to called The Veza Tool. The platform runs on Azure and is
hold the South African Police Service (SAPS) accountable. The powered by data APIs which are plotting data via a custom
tool provides information at national, provincial and district level. Google Maps Integration which you land on from the home page.
Corruption Watch head of stakeholder relations and Data sources are continually being updated. We are using a
campaigns Kavisha Pillay, says the launch of the Veza tool headlines WordPress CMS approach to provide for some content
signifies a new era for Corruption Watch as they explore how management”, Durrant explained.
transparency, big data and accessible technology can be used Veza offers so many features, including integration with Google
to combat corruption and advance broader social justice issues. Maps, which allows us to use geo-location with various data
Since Corruption Watch’s inception in 2012, innovation has sources to plot police corruption trends and hotspots, as well as
always been central to its approach in addressing systemic information about all 1 150 police stations across the country such
and pervasive corruption in South Africa. Public adoption as contact information, resources, budget and personnel."
will determine the power of this tool, the more it is used and
information shared, the more involved they will become in how The Veza tool also enables users to:
their communities are policed and protected around the country. • rate and review police stations based on personal experiences;
Veza is designed to encourage public participation in the • compare the resources of up to four stations;
matter of transparency in policing, while also providing access • commend honest and ethical police officers; and
to key information about police operations. Its use will help to • report incidents of corruption and police misconduct that are
strengthen the role of the public and civil society in calling for immediately geo-located through the tool.
change in the SAPS, and in reducing the power imbalance
that exists between the SAPS and members of the public. Its Pillay expressed her gratitude to Bluegrass Digital for the
success will be based on public participation and the submission impeccable and professional service that was provided throughout
of data. the development of this project. "We collaborated, exchanged
The data used to populate the Veza tool was obtained ideas, brainstormed and debated extensively during this process
directly from the SAPS through the submission of a number of and I am really proud of the product that we have." n
applications under the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
The collection and verification of data is an ongoing process, About Bluegrass Digital (http://www.bluegrassdigital.com)

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