Top cop Nneke Ledwaba retires

Once a police officer, always a police officer.

These are the words by Provincial Police Commissioner, Nneke Ledwaba, who after 37 years of service, is retiring from the service.

The city and province bid farewell to Ledwaba during several activities hosted in and around the city on Thursday.

Ledwaba, who has been the provincial commissioner since May 2016, says when he first joined the service in 1984 he was motivated by the police officers he saw on their way to work and in the line of duty.

“As a child going to school, I always looked up to police officers and I admired them for the work they were doing in service to their communities. I told myself from then, that I wanted to be responsible for ensuring that those who commit crimes are held responsible for their actions and are taken off the streets,” he said.

Ledwaba holds a Master’s Degree in Policing from the Tshwane University of Technology where he majored in Public Order Policing (POP) and says this is the field he always knew he wanted to work in.

His biggest accomplishment during his years in service is the establishment of community policing unit which has seen police stations across the province dividing up their areas into sectors that are run by sector commanders with the help of the CPF.

“I realised quite early in my career that the work of the police cannot be done without the involvement of the community. Crime never happens in front of the police but members of the community usually know what happened and where it happened.”

He says that he set his goal on addressing this gap between the work of the police and engagement from the community.

“I ensured that every station has a cell phone number where residents can easily call, and that the numbers of the station commanders and sector commanders are published and made available to the community in order to bridge that gap and ensure accountability. Every station commander should be aware of every case in their station.”

Asked about the legacy he leaves behind, Ledwaba said it would undoubtedly be that of crime prevention, due to the strict standard he has set in not only addressing crime but also ensuring that they do not happen in the first place.

“During all this time I have learnt that there should always be an element of togetherness and the first time I was able to assist in getting criminals to migrate from our streets will always be my fondest memory and a constant reminder that if we work together we can beat crime.”

Ledwaba says he does not plans for his retirement yet, but whatever he will keep himself busy with, will be along the lines of law enforcement as this will always be his true passion.