ABERDEEN NEWS - Capt Vernon Minnaar, who was recently appointed as Station Commander for SAPS in Aberdeen, is no stranger to the town and its residents.
From March 2014 until May 2015 he spent 15 months in the town as Acting Station Commander, gaining the respect of the community for his integrity and commitment.
With the appointment of Capt Advocate Qashani as Station Commander, Capt Minnaar returned to the Graaff-Reinet police station as a relief commander. In September 2016 he transferred to the cluster office, as coordinator for the Visible Police (Vispol) crime prevention section.
Capt Advocate Qashani left Aberdeen at the beginning of this year when he was promoted to the post of Lieutenant Colonel at the police station in Libode, 28km from his home town of Umtata, creating a vacancy in Aberdeen.
During February, Capt Minnaar requested a transfer to Aberdeen to take up the post, looking for the challenge of more responsibility for a wider field of operations. He was appointed as Aberdeen Station Commander.
As well as visible policing, his responsibilities now include the oversight of logistics, finance and the staff, including the detective branch. Aberdeen SAPS has five warrant officers, three sergeants, ten constables and four administrative clerks, as well as four warrant officers, two constables and an administrative clerk at the detective branch.
Capt Minnaar said despite the shortage of staff, he is determined to work with the people available to give the best service possible to the town and surrounding farms.
He plans to move to Aberdeen as soon as possible to be on hand for the community and to attend to complaints with improved professionalism.
One area that he will be working on is to take better care of state resources, such as the vehicles.
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