#YourStory – Jimmy talks crime fighting
"As a police officer I want to serve those who cannot help themselves. I like to help the community,"
Warrant Officer Jimmy Masilela, a sector manager for the Edenvale SAPS, spoke about his career as a police officer and some of the responsibilities he has as a sector coordinator.
W/O Masilela said being a police officer is not difficult for him, as he is passionate about his job.
“As a police officer I want to serve those who cannot help themselves. I like to help the community,” said W/O Masilela.
As the sector coordinator in Edenvale, W/O Masilela is responsible for providing statistics or sector profiles on each of the four sectors in Edenvale.
W/O Masilela said these sector profiles include the number of schools, churches, businesses and other relevant information about the sector.
He said as the sector coordinator, he also attends the monthly Edenvale Community Police Forum meetings, the neighbourhood watch meetings and the security meetings.
“I liaise with the community,” said W/O Masilela.
During his 24 years as a police officer, W/O Masilela said he has had a number of successes involving the arrests of suspects.
“Getting rid of guns on the streets is important for crime prevention,” said W/O MMasilela.
W/O Masilela said removing guns from the streets will help in reducing the number of violent crimes.
An arrest that stands out for him, as a highlight during his career as a police officer, was the arrest of four suspects all of whom had firearms.
According to W/O Masilela two of the firearms were taken from police officers and one officer was murdered.
When W/O Masilela is not doing police work and has some free time, he trains and works out to stay healthy.
He said health and fitness is important to him.
“When I was younger I used to do body building,” said W/O Masilela.
“I began when I was still in school but stopped doing bodybuilding 15 years ago,” said W/O Masilela.
During that time, W/O Masilela said he took part in a number of bodybuilding events and even made it to the national level.
However, because of an increase in work commitments, W/O Masilela said he stopped bodybuilding.
Recently, W/O Masilela has been involved in operations alongside the community in Edenvale.
W/O Masilela said the operation are done primarily to fight crime in Edenvale.
“In order to fight crime in the Edenvale area, the community needs to work together. By having the community and security companies assisting the police, it will help combat crime.”
To read more about operations W/O Masilela has been involved in, visit:
