Last week, the Rising Sun covered the accolades won by the Chatsworth SAPS and its Detective Super Officers, who received provincial recognition for their fierce crime-fighting strategies at the SAPS Excellence Awards.

At this scintillating event, held at the Coastlands Musgrave Hotel, the Bellair CPF also shone, being named CPF of the Year. The president, Malcolm Naidoo, explained that their tireless efforts were strictly aimed at doing good in the community.

“The criteria for this award revolved around how the CPF works and what it accomplished within the time frame. The nomination for it came thanks to Bellair SAPS, with the motivation also coming from inside the station, based on their records. We were truly honored to have won such a distinction. Even though we don’t serve the community for rewards, being rewarded for it gives us a boost to push even further. We still have a long way to go, but together we can make a difference. This recognition motivates us to do more and to serve each other with dignity and respect, to help each other and to build each other up as best we can,” said a humble Naidoo.

The Bellair CPF is one of the longest functioning community policing forums in the country, with Naidoo praising one of its oldest members, Johan van Zyl, who is still active at the neighborhood watch level and is a big contributor to the community.

The five-year chairman continued, “We are grateful to our entire team, including our current executive committee, Riki Devnarain, Freddie Kruger, Jerome Govender, Amy Kruger, Alandra Presley Naidoo, Audrey Ryke, Chris Pillay and a member, who we tragically lost, Yoelanda Cousins. We could not have obtained this award without the contribution of our strong sector teams and our active neighborhood watches. Our youth office has also made a considerable contribution with its activities in schools and informal settlements. Our relationship with Bellair SAPS has truly become a relationship of partnership. There is such a willingness to support and work with each other on both sides. Our recently retired Station Commander, Lt. Col. Ramchunder, was also instrumental in building this relationship.

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He added that the Bellair CPF has always received support from local security companies including Blue Security, Pro Secure, Mzansi, FADT and Duncan with whom the group has established a strong relationship. Fazana Mahomed, on the other hand, ended up receiving the top prize in the Admin of the Year category, along with her award, leaving her elated and grateful.

“I am a Crime Information and Management Center (CIMAC) officer who performs crime analysis at Bellair SAPS. I have excellent analytical, logic building and problem solving skills with the ability to read, comprehend, analyze and make sense of the data provided, extracting relevant information accurately. I have been seconded to the KZN Provincial Crime Registrar for the past six years and have worked on projects to improve data quality within KZN, participating in numerous work sessions and station visits. I also work closely with CPF Bellair as I am passionate about making a difference in the community,” Mahomed explained..

The 38-year-old has also received two good work certificates from eThekwini District and is currently awaiting a Certificate of Commendation from the National Commissioner for her contribution in a case where a criminal is sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.