New Umbilo station commander aims to make a difference

THE new station commander at Umbilo SAPS, Col Teddy Munusamy, is determined to make a difference in the community with his new position heading up the station.

Col Munusamy has had a long journey in the police force.

The decision to become a police officer was something that was almost chosen for him and was not something he had always wanted to do from young.

When he was in Grade 10, Munusamy said his school guidance counsellor encouraged him to fill in a questionnaire to ascertain what career would best suit him.

“Through my character traits and profile, it showed I would make a good policeman, so I decided to go with it. When I look back now, I realise it’s exactly where I want to be,” he said.

After school Munusamy went to police college in 1982, and was later ‘roped into’ joining the police band.

“We had to train at the naval base and I trained up to Grade 3 in music and wrote an exam through the Royal School of Music. However this wasn’t what I wanted to do, and in 1984 I was sent back to the station at Chatsworth. I covered the mortuary there, and learnt skills such as completing postmortem dockets and the proper running of the mortuary,” he said.

In 1990, Munusamy moved to the Police Emergency Services in Durban where he worked until 2013, serving as commander from 1997 until he moved to Phoenix.

There he served as acting station commander and visible policing head, and in September 2018, was transferred to the Cluster Office in Chatsworth, where he managed visible policing of 10 stations under the Cluster.

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“I am now at Umbilo. Each commander has their own way of working and at Umbilo, I want to take the police as close to the community as possible. I want to have an open door policy with the community and there are things I want to change at the station,” he said. This included displaying managers’ contact details and the station email address so the public could take up issues with them which need to be attended to. He said he wanted to improve front line service delivery at the station, and felt having monitors from the public would work well in Umbilo.

“I also want to get the sector forums up and running to work with the police. The partnership between the CPF and police is equal, and the police strategy and community strategy to fight crime must be aligned for success. I want to create a mechanism where the public get feedback on reported cases, this is a priority at the station and I believe we have the capacity to do this,” he said.

Another top priority is targeting drugs and drug dealers in the community, and he urged residents with information in this regard to contact him.

“I believe there are good dynamics in this area. Our challenges include the Sydney Road and Gale Street one ways, which lead to speeding and which enable quick get-aways for criminals. I have a plan in mind to secure these main routes,” he said.

Munusamy said another issue which would get high priority is gender-based violence.

He said heading towards the 16 Days of Activism campaign, he aimed to form strong partnerships with stakeholders during this period and to create heightened awareness on the scourge.

He also aimed to work with the CPF and other stakeholders to close down lodges and address prostitution in the precinct.

In his personal time, Munusamy loves to go fishing, although he admits he hasn’t been able to enjoy this hobby for a while.

He is a member of the SANDF Fishing Club on the Bluff.

Munusamy has studied all his life and is hoping to be sworn in as an attorney in the first week of November.

“I will use my knowledge of the law to fight for the community and in my job as a police officer,” he said. Munusamy is married with two children, and said his family has been very supportive of his job and his studies.The community can contact Col Munusamy on 082 448 7589.

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