WO Jan Fourie serves Norkem SAPS and new Kempton community

WO Jan Fourie (49) now calls Kempton Park his new home and field of action in which he declared to offer his very best in the force serving behind Norkem Park SAPS.

Previously, Fourie worked in the charge office at Pretoria North SAPS for 25 years in which he would attend shift duties or visible policing (Vispol) work by taking statements office-based or on scenes where necessary. He served there until September.

“After so many years I decided I want to live near the ocean for a change. So I requested an exchange relocation to St Francis Bay, a village in the Eastern Cape. I lived and worked there for about eight months in which I also did Vispol work. It was a very small station and we were only four police officers guarding the area.”

Fourie explained that at stations with such a small concentration of forces, the officers would be all-rounders in doing most facets of police work themselves.

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“There you did everything yourself, like executing the warrants yourself, arrests, varying criminal activities instead of specialising in something particular.”

As fate would have it, Fourie fell in love with someone in Gauteng before being officially transferred to St Francis Bay and pursued futile attempts to cancel his exchange relocation, as it had already been too late.

He served the seaside community while he put in yet another exchange relocation request that eventually led him to serve half of Kempton Park in a refreshed line of duty during May.

“I want to emphasise that new love is not my only prerogative while serving this community. I devote myself to the cause of safety and crime prevention, no matter where I find myself.”

Fourie has encountered every kind of crime intervention that’s common in South Africa.

“I’ve experienced bank robberies in which we caught the suspects in action, for instance. But it includes any common encounter you’d find in Pretoria North.

“In St Francis, we focused a lot on drug-related criminal activity in attempts to control that kind of evil, if not to root it out completely. In Gauteng, we see a lot of nyaope, khat or heroine mixtures among busts, whereas in St Francis, the norm was combating the possession, formulation and distribution of Mandrax, which is more common that side.”

Having been stationed in Norkem Park, Fourie said the area was not extremely foreign since his relocation, as his sister has been living in the area for years.

“This area is quite nostalgic to Pretoria North. It seems familiar in terms of being an old established town with deep roots. The law enforcement challenges and scope also seem similar.”

After his arrival, Fourie was focused on familiarising himself with the areas and knowing the ins and outs of criminal activity in this particular landscape.

“I started by meeting the community thanks to fellow Kemptonians’ help and support. I’ve met up with the various sectors and sector management in attempts to speed up the process of offering and being part of a network support structure.”

He realised that certain sectors experience a lack of patrolling manpower or resources, and how he would like to urge the community’s support in lending assistance to ensure safer neighbourhoods.

“Any such individuals are welcome to contact me so we can take hands to secure an even bigger safety network and strive to build a sense of pride in safety where we work and live our daily lives.”

To get in touch with Fourie, contact him on 071 675 6808 or contact the station’s spokesperson, Sgt Barbara Ferreira, on 071 675 6807.

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