30 Years of service in the police, and still going strong
Captain Paula Terblanche has over 30 years of hard work in the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit.
Captain Paula Terblanche recently celebrated her 30th year of incredible service as a trusted and decorated police officer for the people of Krugersdorp.
Paula joined the South African Police Service on 1 January 1989, after completing her Police Diploma, with multiple courses in Forensic, Detective and Sexual Offences Investigations, and Child Psychology. Her main focus soon became investigating and stopping family violence and sexual abuse.
If you saw Paula in the street though, you wouldn’t think that she goes after criminals who commit horrible crimes on a daily basis. You’d usually find her perfectly dressed, made up, hair styled, and wearing a pair of high heeled shoes to boot. She always has a story to share and you barely ever see her without a smile.
“I never forget any of my cases. Where possible, I stay involved and constantly follow up on their progress. This allows me to deal with the emotions.”
Above and beyond her job, Paula is a loving mother, runs multiple community projects and is an avid sportswoman.
“Cycling, swimming and running help me to deal with the pressures of my extremely demanding job,” Paula said.
Through her charitable contributions, she has formed close working relationships with various non-profit organisations such as LifeLine, Project Hope, Child Welfare, local churches, the Department of Social Development, the Department of Health, Polokego Shelter and many more.
Throughout the years, this police captain has received many awards, a few recent ones being The Krugersdorp Cluster Sport Star of the Year for 2015 to 2018, the Vita Basadi Award from the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in 2016 and a nomination in 2017 for this category, West Rand Woman of the Year in 2017, runner-up Gauteng Woman of the Year in 2017 and the second runner-up award for the National South African Police Service Woman of the Year in 2018. The last award was part of the National Excellence Awards which were recently held in Mpumalanga. The award was handed over by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele.
“I can only thank my community and my work that have granted me the opportunity to reach these heights. I thank God for these blessings, which are much more than I deserve,” Paula said.
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