Listed in alphabetical order on the South African Police Services website are the telephone numbers for every police station in South Africa. There are 1 116 in total. In an attempt to assess how responsive and assessable the police are - that is, the level of customer service one can expect on calling the numbers - I undertook to phone every station. As a result, I can reveal that 35% of all calls placed went either answered or to a wrong number. In other words, if you want to phone a South African police station, there is more than a 1 in 3 chance your call will not be answered (see full results here - PDF).

In the SAPS 2010/2011 annual report, police minister Nathi Mthethwa stated that "improving the police response is an objective that remains a priority for the department". If that is indeed the case, this survey suggests the department still has a long way to go.

The full results of the survey are as follows:

A brief word about the methodology:

• A complete list of all calls made follows this article.
• The numbers are all listed alphabetically on the SAPS website at this address. To go there on the site, simply double-click on ‘Contacts' at the top of the home page, then again on ‘Police Stations'.
• All calls took place on two days: 4 May and 21 May 2012. The date and time of the call is recorded next to it.
• All calls were placed between 11.30am and 8.45pm, with the bulk between 12pm and 5pm.
• In order for a call to qualify as unanswered [highlighted in red], I let it ring for a minimum of 15 times.
• Under wrong number [total: 85, highlighted in blue] I have included fax numbers incorrectly listed as phone numbers [12 instances] and wrong numbers [no ring tone, wrong number message or, literally, the wrong number].
• In those instances where two or more numbers were listed and one was answered, another not, I have highlighted them in yellow and not included them in the 35% total [24 instances]. If one does include them, the total number of un-contactable stations rises to 412 and the percentage to 37%

The result of the survey is deeply disturbing and goes straight to the heart of the nature of customer service, as provided by the government in general and the SAPS in particular. It is dire. There are two sets of numbers it can be argued South African citizens rely on, often as a matter of life and death, for quick and immediate response: those for public hospitals and police stations. That more than 1 out of 3 police stations cannot be immediately reached is cause for serious concern and should be investigated by the minister.

I intend to send the results of the survey to the minister of police and to ask my colleague in parliament, Dianne Kohler Barnard MP - the DA's shadow minister of police - to submit a parliamentary question to the minister on the matter.

That 85 numbers do not work is an indictment either of the SAPS website, which needs to be updated, or the police stations themselves, which do not have working numbers. 85 stations might only represent 8% of the total but between them they service thousands of people and, if they do not have working central numbers, the public is obviously unable to contact them; worse still, to contact them in an emergency. There can be profound, real-life consequences to this kind of poor information.

Two final points: first, there are a great many services provided by the state which leave the South African citizen the victim of a poor experience, from obtaining an Identity Book through to treatment at their local clinic. Too often the government misunderstands that its purpose is not just to provide a service, but to provide it in an efficient, effective and customer-friendly manner. It is no exaggeration to say, were the government a company in the private sector, it would have long since lost its customer base to a better, faster, more caring rival.

Second, this project represents the first in an ongoing series of similar such exercises I aim to undertake, to test those services the state offers citizens and how effective they are. In the private sector there is no end to the number of individuals and organisations dedicated to monitoring customer service, to evaluating best practice and, through competition, to help people chose the best service or product. Not so when it comes to the government.

As result, its standards have been allowed to decline without consequence. By undertaking a series of similar such exercises, it is my hope not only to highlight best and worst practice but, where there are significant problems, to help bring them to the public's and media's attention. And that can only be to everyone's benefit.

Gareth van Onselen works as the DA's Director of Political Analysis and Development. He writes in his personal capacity. This article first appeared on the Inside Politics website.

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