Beacon Bay station nets top provincial accolade

TOP JOB: Beacon Bay Police Station commander Colonel Thayne Petzer’s efforts have bagged him the award for best medium police station in the Eastern Cape Picture: SIBONGILE NGALWA
TOP JOB: Beacon Bay Police Station commander Colonel Thayne Petzer’s efforts have bagged him the award for best medium police station in the Eastern Cape Picture: SIBONGILE NGALWA
The Beacon Bay Police Station was named the best medium-sized police station in the Eastern Cape at the annual SAPS excellence awards ceremony.

The station in the upmarket East London suburb is headed by Colonel Thayne Petzer.

The awards ceremony, which was hosted by provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga and Eastern Cape safety and liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana on November 11, is held to recognise the excellence displayed by various officers, staff and their stations.

There are about 198 police stations across the province and 47 of these are medium-sized police stations like Beacon Bay.

The award came as no surprise to Petzer who has been working hard over the past financial year to improve every aspect of the station.

He has been commanding officer at the facility since November 2013. Petzer, who thanked his staff for their role, said the award was also made possible by the involvement of the community in their various crime-prevention projects.

“This is an achievement in that we have not only reduced crime but have also implemented various community policing projects over and above the prevention of crime in the area,” he said.

The criteria used to determine the best medium police station included success in reducing crime, CPF projects, initiatives implemented with the community and enforcement of the Domestic Violence Act and Child Justice Act.

Petzer said all these structures were up and running. He also credited his members for going the extra mile in attending to complaints and combating crime.

“A lot of people do come to us and thank us for the services that they have received at Beacon Bay. We are known to have a good reputation in terms of our frontline services that we render,” Petzer said.

He said the station will increase its efforts to curb contact crime in the area.

“In certain areas it is assault and the most affluent areas it is housebreaking, although we have shown a decrease,” Petzer said, adding the decrease was as a result of a combined effort between police and the community.

He said he wanted to make sure that Beacon Bay Police Station retained the award next year.

“We are hoping to continue with the services that we render here at Beacon Bay and obviously the fight against crime,” Petzer said.

He said if community members were interested in contributing towards the fight against crime they should approach the police station. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za

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