Sterling track record for retiring Bay police officer

AFTER 34 years and 225 days on the force, Colonel Rita Joubert of Richards Bay SAPS last week hung up her handcuffs as she headed into retirement.

Although she did not grow up in a family of police officers, as a young girl she could not imagine doing anything else when she grew up.

‘Being a police officer was just something I always wanted to do,’ she said.

‘I was passionate about law enforcement back then and I am passionate about it now.’

After spending a year at the South African Army Women’s College in George, she went on to study to become a police officer at Pretoria College.

In 1983 the then constable graduated as the best female student, which, to this day, remains one of the highlights of her career on the force.

The other was when she became a lieutenant in 1993.

After two years at the Community Service Centre (CSC) in Bothaville, the young constable returned to Pretoria College in 1985 where she worked as an Instructor for 11 years.

Excelling at her job, by 1997 she had worked her way up from constable to lieutenant colonel.

It was in 2000 that the then lieutenant colonel headed east and started work as crime prevention officer in Richards Bay.

Five years later she was promoted to colonel and moved to Empangeni CSC as commander.

From 2009 to retirement, Col Joubert oversaw 12 stations as the Cluster Vispol Co-ordinator, which more recently, saw her travelling everyday between Richards Bay and eShowe.

A ‘skerpskutter’ (sharpshooter), she was awarded an impressive 41 medals between 2012 and 2016 for practical pistol shooting.

Unaware of what free time feels like, as she had not booked off sick for a single day since 2005, Colonel Joubert looks forward to getting stuck into the hobbies she did not previously have time for.

‘I have started carving monkey apples, which I find very therapeutic and enjoyable, and I am looking forward to spending my time finding new hobbies.

‘But for the most part, I am looking forward to spending quality, uninterrupted time with my family.

‘During my working career, I was lucky enough to have had the biggest support system in my family.’

Colonel Joubert has nothing but good things to say about her fellow police officers over the years and said she forged excellent relationships with all of them.

‘They were not colleagues, I considered them friends.

‘If you respect everyone, the respect you get in return is something quite amazing,’ she said.

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