Westonaria Police Station Commander Jurie Ferreira is hard at work always burying his head in crime to catch criminals.
The Herald decided to profile the man in charge at Westonaria SAPS to find out what he is like at home, in a relaxed setting. A man of very few words Jurie said he loves spending time with his wife and cooking his famous pineapple fridge tarts.
Although he said he currently does not have much of a social life, he enjoys cycling and has participated in different competitions such as the Cape Argus and the 947 cycle challenges among others. He hasn’t done much of this lately, due to his recent appointment at the station in August last year, which led him to roll up his sleeves and find ways to best steer the station in the right direction.
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“Leisure is very much minimal at the moment. Getting to work at 06:00 and leaving at 20:00 leaves little time for leisure but that’s no excuse, I should make time for this. My objective when I arrived here was to change Westonaria for the better and that’s what I spent my first six months trying to do I can see that there is a change for the better.
“So maybe now that I’ve achieved my goal for that period, I can squeeze in some cycling,” said Ferreira.
Unlike many, Ferreira said he didn’t always want to be in the police force but that it was his sense of discipline that he absorbed in boarding school during high school that led him here. Being from the mining town of Carletonville, he initially worked at the mine and changed his mind to join the police force after a few months.
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This comes after realising that he wants to be in an environment that is structured and disciplined.
“I didn’t always know what I wanted to do after high school, so I went on to work at the mine. I then realised that this is not what I wanted to do. Yes, there is a discipline at the mine, but not in the way that I know it to be and that’s when I told my father about joining the police force because of the nature of its environment,” said Ferreira.
He is married with no children and his wife is the secretary to the Carletonville Police station commander.
Ferriera speaks highly of her and added that she has been a wonderful support system over the years.
“My wife is truly an amazing support structure in my life. She’s got a big understanding of what I’m doing and what is expected of me. She also understands what I go through and offers the necessary support,” said Ferreira.
While his wife is instrumental to his career, he on the other hand also likes spoiling her with nice gestures.
“My wife enjoys reading and has a lot of books and she sometimes runs out of space, so I just build her book cabinets. I enjoy doing that and some painting work as well. I also enjoy working in the garden, as it is so therapeutic and just takes away all the stress.
“I’m also a fan of cooking and I love surprising my wife with Sunday lunches when I can and I sometimes prepare supper as well,” said Ferreira whose face lit up every time he spoke of his significant other.
He is also confident that he makes delicious pies and pineapple fridge tarts which are, according to him, a hit in his neighbourhood and his local church group.
Asked what his favourite dish is, Ferreira said he loves a good plate of steak, eggs, and chips topped with mushrooms.
He also enjoys fried chicken, fried potato, and rice and peas which was a regular in boarding school.
Having a look at his career, Ferreira joined the force in 1984 and went on to occupy the position of a constable and sergeant.
He moved up the ranks throughout the years and was appointed as a station commander for the Welverdiend Police Station.
Before joining Westonaria, Ferreira also worked as the station as the support head for the Carletonville station and Khutsong station as well.
