General shows women how it’s done in police
A DURBAN-BORN policewoman has risen to the top ranks of the South African Police Service and has proven that she’s a force to be reckoned with.
Sally de Beer, 56, who has 37 years of experience in the police service, was recently promoted from brigadier to major-general.
De Beer is often quoted in newspapers, or seen on television, as a national spokesperson for the SAPS. She is currently head of corporate communication and liaison, one of many roles in which she has served.
During her long-standing career, she has seen and been through it all, from working at the Durban drug squad, to playing an important security role during the Fifa 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
She also spends much of her time grooming young female policewomen as part of the SAPS Women Empowerment Network.
De Beer, who grew up in Pinetown and later moved to Durban North, joined the police service at the age of 19 in 1980.
“My older sister, Michelle, was a policewoman and became a detective in the diamond and gold branch. This inspired me to follow in her footsteps. I was sworn in the day after my 19th birthday,” she says.
“I have matured in the police and feel like the organisation is my extended family, with thousands of brothers and sisters in blue.”
De Beer completed her six months of basic training in Pretoria and was posted to the Durban North police station.
She worked in Durban for 10 years before being transferred to the public relations head office, after successfully completing a candidate officer’s course and being promoted to lieutenant.
“I was privileged in my early 20s to have worked in the drug squad in Durban with amazing colleagues who, to this day, I often think about.
“The only disadvantage I can think of in my entire career is that there were no female dog handlers when I was younger, as I love animals and would have loved to have been in the K9 unit.”
A highlight was being given the opportunity to speak on behalf of the security forces during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
“We worked on the plan for several years and held major exercises throughout the country to train in all aspects of security. I also had the opportunity to go to London and attend a match at Wembley Stadium to see how the British police operate.
“For eight weeks I was based at the national joint operational centre at a military base in Pretoria with 300 people. The level of professionalism and camaraderie I experienced there will stay with me always.
“I only got to attend one match in Johannesburg and as the match started my phone started to ring like crazy because Paris Hilton had been arrested at a stadium in Port Elizabeth. So I left the stadium immediately and returned to our base,” she says.
De Beer is delighted to have been awarded her recent promotion. “Any career police officer will tell you that you always aspire to one day be a general in the police. I am hugely honoured and thankful that many years of hard work have been recognised.”
Despite her busy career, she has been able to balance the demands of work and running a family.
“I have two daughters and a son, all of whom have finished school, although my two younger children still stay at home. As all women know, it can be very demanding juggling a career and raising a family. But I wouldn’t change a thing,” says De Beer.
When she’s not on national television, or fielding calls from the news media, De Beer is working out in the gym or spending time with friends and family. She also calls herself a “social media freak”.
She lives her life by the words “do no harm”. “One should treat all living beings with respect and afford every person the dignity they deserve,” she says.
For women who envision joining the police services, she says it should be because they have a calling to serve and protect.
“There are so many different opportunities for women in the police. You can be a pilot, forensic analyst, detective, K9 handler, part of the public order police or a police station member. Whatever you do, do it with passion, spurred on by a love of your country and its people,” she says.