Security, residents and communication — one platform for your ward.
Beacon is the end-to-end platform for dedicated wards in South Africa. Patrollers, security companies, SAPS liaisons and residents all work from one shared record and one emergency channel — instead of a WhatsApp group, a notebook and a spreadsheet. Your Community Policing Forum runs it; everyone in the ward is part of it.
Built and supported by CommunitySA — everything digital.
Security, residents and communication — end to end.
A ward's safety isn't one problem, it's three: keeping patrols and security providers coordinated, keeping every household connected and covered, and keeping everyone informed. Beacon handles all three in one system, so nothing falls between a group chat, a spreadsheet and a phone call.
Security
Coordinate everyone who keeps the ward safe.
- Patrol rosters, and patrols the rest of the sector can join
- Incidents logged live with type, photos and GPS location
- Your security company sees incidents and the alerts of residents linked to them
- A timestamped SAPS liaison log with case references
- Points of interest flagged for the patrollers in that sector
Residents
Put every household inside the safety net.
- Residents register themselves in the app, under their own ward and sector
- One big emergency button that alerts the patrollers covering their sector, with location attached
- Link to your armed-response provider from the app
- A community fee your committee sets and keeps, on top of the Beacon licence
Communication
Keep the whole ward informed, in one trusted channel.
- Community alerts by sector — road closures, safety notices, meeting reminders
- One running record your whole executive committee can see
- A member directory of patrollers and executives, by sector
- Meeting and incident summaries ready for your monthly submission
From one tap to a full record.
Here is what happens when a resident needs help — every step inside the same platform, with nothing retyped from one tool into another.
Raises the alarm
One tap on the emergency button, with their location attached.
The sector responds
The patrollers covering that sector see the alert — and so does the resident's linked security company.
It's logged as it happens
Patrollers or the security company log the incident with a description, photos and GPS position.
SAPS and the ward are kept in the loop
The liaison log records the SAPS case reference, and a community alert keeps residents informed.
Everything your ward needs, in one place.
Most wards run on a mix of WhatsApp, a notebook and whoever remembers to update the Excel sheet. Beacon replaces that with tools built around how a ward actually operates — security, residents and communication together.
A way to generate revenue for your community
Residents pay Beacon's licence fee — and your community can choose to add a community fee of its own, based on your preference. Beacon isn't only a cost: it's a way to generate additional revenue that helps build and support your community, from patrol equipment and safety events to the social activities that keep a neighbourhood engaged.
Incident logging & mapping
Patrollers log incidents from their phone, tagged to sector and time. Your secretary sees a running log instead of chasing voice notes.
Patrol rosters
Build weekly patrol schedules by sector, send reminders to patrollers, and track who actually signed on and off.
Joinable patrols
Any patroller can schedule a patrol the rest of the sector can join — see who's signed up before you head out, instead of arriving to an empty street.
SAPS liaison log
Keep a clean, timestamped record of what was reported to your station liaison officer — useful at every sector meeting.
Community alerts
Push a broadcast to residents and patrollers by sector — road closures, safety notices, meeting reminders — without a group chat spiralling.
Points of interest
Flag a house, business or vacant lot worth knowing about — patrollers in that sector see the address, notes and photos before they pass by.
Member directory
One list of active patrollers, executive members and their sectors — no more asking "who has the latest spreadsheet".
Meeting & compliance reports
Minutes, attendance and incident summaries export as a report formatted for your monthly submission.
Resident emergency button
Residents register in the app and get one button — tap it in a stressful situation and it alerts the patrollers covering their sector, with their location attached.
Security company access
Your local security company gets one shared login to see incidents and alerts from the residents who've linked to them — no more chasing your armed response provider for updates.
Set up your ward in an afternoon.
Add your sectors
Map your ward into sectors, invite your executive committee and sector heads, and set who sees what.
Bring your patrollers on
Send an invite link to patrollers and residents. They join their sector and get alerts relevant to their area.
Run your first patrol
Log incidents live, close out the patrol, and watch your monthly report build itself in the background.
What patrollers and residents actually see.
Real screens from the app — no renders, no filler. This is what shows up on the phone once your forum is set up.
Sign on for a shift
Patrol times, team, and points of interest for the sector — before anyone sets foot outside.
Log an incident
Tagged to sector, time and location — a running record instead of a voice note nobody can find later.
Community alerts
Broadcasts reach patrollers and residents by sector, and stay on record once resolved.
Resident emergency button
One tap alerts the patrollers covering their sector, with location attached.
Before Beacon, our incident record was three different notebooks and whoever's memory was best at the monthly meeting. Now the report writes itself.
Get your ward running on Beacon.
Register now — no obligation, no jargon — and start setting up your sectors and bringing your committee, patrollers, security company and residents on.
Register your ward