New horizons for Warrant Officer ‘Piesang’
He will be working in the private security sector.
Well-known police officer, Warrant Officer Gerhard Prinsloo, also known as Piesang, resigned recently after 30 years of dedicated service.
Prinsloo (48) and his wife, Ruth and son, Ethan will be emigrating soon to Northern Ireland to start a new chapter.
He will be working in the private security sector.
For the police officer, who joined Saps straight out of school at the age of 18, hanging up his blue uniform was a bittersweet moment.
“I caught the train and went to sign up to be a policeman before I had even received my matric results. My father was a reservist and it was always a thrill to see the van stop at the house when he collected his lunch. I wanted to be a policeman since I was a child.”
Prinsloo has had a remarkable and colourful career, and there is not a department he hasn’t worked in.
“From the word go I learnt many skills in the field and much about life, the good and bad.”
He spent four years in the riot unit (Unit 19) based in Pretoria after college and two years with the Port Shepstone Riot Unit when Unit 19 was down-scaled.
He worked in the charge office, and later moved to the firearm specialised investigation unit and then later worked as a detective in crime prevention.
In 1998, he joined the accident unit. It was there that he developed a deep interest in investigating accident scenes.
Over the years, he attended hundreds of accidents on the coastal roads.
“Every accident scene is different. When you get to one, people immediately depend on you for help.”
“One of the most challenging and hardest cases I was assigned to was the Burry Stander trial,” he said.
“For you to build relationships in a community, you need people to trust and believe in you. This job teaches you to remain humble and appreciate every day life gives you,” he said.
“Everything I know today, I learnt from colleagues like Cecil Kodi, the late Johan Visser and Hendrick Ludick.”
His advice to those considering to join Saps?
“If you feel you are capable of it, go for it. Don’t join for the wrong reasons, only if you feel you can make a difference and do good in the world,” he said.
“I certainly hope I did.”
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