They are the ones we depend on in our most desperate and troubled times – but they often go unnoticed, even neglected until something goes horribly wrong.
The officers of the South African Police Service commit themselves to the sometimes thankless task of risking their own lives to save ours. They fight against heartless criminals in an effort to serve and protect their communities.
Auto & General, Fourways Review, and the Douglasdale Community Policing Forum have decided that you need to know the heroes of our society and, moreover, celebrate their excellence.
To this end, it gives us pleasure to announce the implementation of the Top Cop Awards.
Here is how they will work – every month, the public will have the opportunity to nominate and vote for police and Metro police officers from Douglasdale Police Station who have excelled in the line of duty. Every month the Fourways Review will publish nominations in print and online and ask readers to vote for who they think deserves to win.
The winner each month will receive a cheque of R2 500 from Auto & General.
On top of this, there will be six other categories in which winners will receive a certificate and cheque to the value of R500. These winners will be selected by the Douglasdale CPF. The categories are Best Shift, Best Detective, Best Support, Best Vispol Member Operational (Outside), Best Vispol Member Operational (Inside) and best Johannesburg Metro Police Department member.
Those monthly winners from April to November will be then nominated for the year-end Top Cop Award and voted for by the public where the winner will receive R5 000 – barring the overall Top Cop who will win a whopping R25 000. The grand total of prizes being sponsored by Auto & General amounts to over R100 000.
All prize money will be handed to the CPF and will be distributed by them.
According to Tom Creamer, CEO of Auto & General Insurance, the company is excited to sponsor the awards. He said, “We believe that this initiative will not only give much-deserved recognition to a number of unsung heroes but also motivate and inspire these dedicated and courageous officers to go above and beyond, which will benefit the community.”
Jean Berdou, chairperson of the Douglasdale CPF said, “The object is to focus all precinct police officers, whether police or Metro police, on higher standards of service delivery and community relations. Instead of the critic being the only voice heard, now our community can give voice to the hundreds of times excellent service is rendered when officers go out of their way for the community they serve and protect. We are deeply grateful to our partners Auto & General and Fourways Review, without whose input this would not be possible.”
Also read Douglasdale Community Policing Forum sign memorandum with Metro police
