‘I will keep serving the public’
Long service SAPS officers were honoured at the SAPS Chatsworth College on Friday. POST reporter BUSISIWE MPOFANA spoke to some of them, as well as an officer who was awarded a medal for bravery
WHEN Commander Major-General Bala Naidoo joined the police force 41 years ago, the public at large feared the men in blue.
According to Naidoo, who was awarded a gold medal for outstanding service and recognised for his long service, things had changed over the years, but communities were now learning to respect them again and understand their role.
“In the 1970s, there were a lot of apartheid-motivated cases, which led to us losing people’s trust. We worked under a government that made policemen out to be enemies of the citizens,” he said.
Naidoo joined the police force in 1975 as a constable at Point Road Police Station, and has since climbed the ranks. He is now the KwaZulu-Natal deputy provincial commissioner for the detective service.
The father of two recalls when, in 2006, the then SAPS national commissioner Jackie Selebi asked him to be deputy station commander at the Durban Central (CR Swart) police station.
“To be trusted with such a huge office by a national head was an honour for me,” he said.
In 1987 the Pinetown resident became the SAPS public relations officer, but the same year there were floods in Durban and he was moved back to the field.
Naidoo said he had no tolerance for corrupt policemen.
“Sadly there are many corrupt members who are making communities lose faith in us,” said Naidoo, who said the force needed to address the issue.
“I wish there was a way we could tell from the outset whether a person would be committed to their job,” he added.
Naidoo said that, in his 41 years with the force, he had booked off sick only 11 times.
“It all comes down to the level of commitment you as an individual have,” he said, adding that he would keep serving the public to the best of his ability.
“If there is a chance for me to do police work in retirement as well, I will do it.”