A lady with a passion for the road
Officers sometimes have a hard time with difficult motorists, but all they ever want is respect
We’ve all seen them around town in their brown uniforms, but just what is a Public Safety officer really? Well, in the old days, we called them traffic cops. The Gazette recently spoke to one of our own, Officer Leandra Christina Fourie.
As a female officer in brown, she started at Public Safety (then known as Protection Services) in 2009. In December that year, she went to Pretoria for six months to study for her Traffic Diploma. Officer Fourie says it was a difficult six months, as she had to leave her family behind. But, being the determined person she is, she achieved her goal and was rewarded as the ‘Best Student’ among 108 officers at the end of the course. She also achieved Cum Laude and a trophy for her performance. On returning to Ladysmith, she enjoyed working on the road and gaining more experience.
She explains that a Public Safety officer’s primary responsibility is to protect and serve the citizens in the jurisdiction where he or she is working. Primary duties are to enforce the NRTA (National Road Traffic Act) and CPA (Criminal Procedure Act), and ensure that road users who fail to comply will be prosecuted or even arrested if necessary.
Officers sometimes have a hard time with difficult motorists, but all they ever want is for the community to show them respect.
“I always wanted to be a traffic officer,” says Leandra. In 2011, she started studying for her National Road Traffic Management and Municipal Policing Course, and in 2013 she achieved her diploma. Last year, she was proud to announce that she had achieved her degree.
“I am very proud of my achievements, because I really worked hard. My passion is my job,” she enthuses.
“I take my job very seriously and I expect motorists to be equally serious about respecting the rules of the road,” says an adamant Leandra.
She also imparts road safety tips to pupils at various schools in town, teaching the children about the rules of the road and allowing them to ask questions.
