PSIRA and POPIA statement

1. 01Our role

   Under POPIA, the security firm is the responsible party. Baken is its operator, and works under a written operator agreement with each customer.

2. 02PSIRA

   Baken supplies software to PSIRA-registered security service providers. Those firms keep the operational role: dispatch, response and contact with SAPS stay with them.

3. 03A human approves every action

   Baken drafts. An operator approves every dispatch, every outbound message and every SAPS statement pack. Baken never dispatches a vehicle or contacts SAPS on its own.

4. 04Purpose limitation

   Every search needs a reason code — an incident number, a client request or a SAPS case. There is no free browsing of plates or people.

5. 05Audit log

   Every query, view and export is logged with user, time and reason. Customers can export the log to answer an Information Regulator query or a data-sharing review.

6. 06Retention

   Each data type has a default retention limit, set per customer. Raw community messages are kept for less time than confirmed incidents.

7. 07Data location

   Baken is hosted in a South African cloud region. Personal information sent to AI models is kept to the minimum needed, and any transfer outside South Africa follows section 72 of POPIA.

8. 08No person-level profiling

   Baken does not scrape or profile named individuals from social media. Public signals are used at area level only.

9. 09Bias guard

   Urgency is scored on behaviour, location and vehicles — never on descriptions of race or appearance. Operators are trained on this.

10. 10WhatsApp

    Baken uses the official WhatsApp Business Platform only. Residents report by messaging the firm's own line. No unofficial group scrapers.

Questions about this statement, or a request about your information: hello@baken.co.za.