Ikageng police station came out tops at the SAPS annual National Service Excellence Awards at Sandton Convention Centre last week.
The station walked away with the award for the best police station in the country for the 2015/2016 financial year.
According to the elated station commander and Disaster Studies Ph.D. student, Colonel Jaco Brazer, the best station in the land was judged on its overall performance in the support services, detective services and visible policing. The police station was contending with Boipatong and Naaupoort police stations. The station received the national certificate of appreciation from the acting national commissioner of the SAPS, Lt Gen. Phahlane, and R15 000 from Liberty Life.
The acting station commander of the Ikageng Police, Colonel Johan Loots says this will be utilised for a community project that the station must still decide upon.
“It makes no sense to spend the money on anything less than the community of Ikageng,” he said.
Loots described the outstanding qualities and characteristics of the Ikageng police officers.
“In the past, we have experienced difficulties but the station’s crime prevention has improved remarkably under the leadership of Colonel Brazer.
What makes this station different from others is the dedication and positive attitude of our members. If there’s no dedication, you might as well leave the workplace.
Photo: Selogile Leshage
“The members went beyond the extra mile to serve their communities. There is a general feeling that we are not only serving the community, but we are the community because charity begins at home. When a police officer wakes up in the morning, he does not leave home for work, he is already at work.
You must develop a sense of protecting your community as if it were your family. We were fortunate to get that commitment from our uniformed members. Winning this prestigious award proved to our members that their efforts are recognised by the national SAPS.”
Col Loots did admit that there are areas in Ikageng that require improvement in combating crime.
“We have limited resources. We urge our community members to help us with information. They must strive to be good neighbours, be aware of their surroundings and report any illegal activities. If we can get every person to play their part, we will eradicate crime in our community.
The community should never be scared to contact the SAPS and maintain a close relationship with the police. We are not perfect and we are going to make mistakes. If we, and the community, can both limit our mistakes we will eradicate crime and create a world where children can play freely without being scared of any harm. If all role-players from all walks of life in this diverse community can commit themselves to fighting crime, we will be closer to heaven.”
Col Loots says one of the highlights of the station was when Col Brazer introduced strategically placed radio-enhanced equipment to improve radio communication.
“There is no spot in the township with bad reception,” he said proudly.
According to him, the Ikageng detective services have been the best in the country for the last five years, under the leadership of Colonel JC Scholtz, and continue to maintain a very high standard. Another notable achievement was Brigadier Adams, a Klerksdorp acting cluster commnader from Potchefstroom who received second place for the best cluster commander in the country.
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