The Newcastle South African Police Service (SAPS) has often been challenged by community calls for intensified efforts to combat crime in region. However, the Newcastle Stabilisation Unit has demonstrated its strength and dedication, bringing pride to Newcastle SAPS with a distinguished win at the KwaZulu-Natal SAPS Provincial Excellence Awards.
The prestigious awards ceremony took place in Durban on Friday, 1 November 2024, bringing together police officers from across the province to celebrate and recognise exceptional service.
The event provided an opportunity for officers to showcase their commitment to excellence on behalf of their respective stations and communities.
Reflecting on the unit’s success, Newcastle SAPS Spokesperson Lizzy Arumugam proudly shared that the Newcastle Stabilisation Unit claimed first place as the Medium Risk Team of the Year, outperforming other Stabilisation Units from around KwaZulu-Natal.
Arumugam elaborated on the unit’s structure and mission, explaining that it comprises four Warrant Officers, five Sergeants, and two Constables who work in two teams on 12-hour flexi shifts under the command of Lieutenant Colonel NL Dlamini.
Describing the team’s responsibilities, Arumugam said, “These members attend to all newly reported cases to trace and arrest suspects and engage with informers. They also compile profiles on wanted suspects and circulated suspects, and then trace them.”
The unit also takes on serious and violent crime cases such as murders, business robberies, and house robberies.
They investigate crime scenes, identify witnesses, and work diligently to trace both suspects and any stolen property. Furthermore, the unit enforces apprehension orders for deferred fines. This applies when a suspect is issued a substantial fine by the courts, with a commitment to pay the fine monthly. If any payments are missed, the Stabilisation Unit steps in to apprehend the individual. Additionally, the unit takes on special assignments as directed by the Vispol Commander and Station Commander.
Reflecting on the team’s recent success, Arumugam remarked on the pride they felt following their award win. “This team came second for the Medium Risk Team of the Year at the Provincial Excellence Awards for 2022/2023, achieving a total of 804 arrests and attending to 48 serious and violent crime scenes. For the 2023/2024 period, they excelled with a 59% increase in arrests, totalling 1,279 arrests, and attended 42 serious and violent crime scenes,” said Arumugam.
She further credited the team’s Commander, Lieutenant Colonel NL Dlamini, for his motivation and guidance, emphasising that the team’s dedication goes beyond standard hours.
“The team members are dedicated to their work, often putting in long hours beyond their shifts, and we also extend our gratitude to their families for their support as they work to create a safer environment for the Newcastle community,” she added.
With their eyes now set on the National Awards in 2025, the Newcastle Stabilisation Unit is poised to represent Newcastle SAPS on a national stage, competing against top units from across South Africa. As these dedicated officers prepare to bring further honour to Newcastle, we celebrate their unwavering commitment to maintaining law and order in our community.
What are your thoughts on the achievements of the Newcastle Stabilisation Unit? Share your views in the comments below.
Looking for a remote job? FlexJobs is the premier site to find hand-screen remote jobs without the ads, scams and junk found on other sites. We help job seekers find legitimate, professional remote jobs. Our subscription based site ensures only quality job listings are featured in our directory. Our extensive filters enables members to search for “work from anywhere” jobs, country-specific remote jobs, hybrid remote jobs, and more. Our mission is to help job seekers find jobs that better fit their lives while helping to push the work flexibility movement forward. In addition to access to our exclusive database, FlexJobs members can level up their candidacy through skills tests, webinars from our career experts, extensive content to improve resumes, cover letters and interviews, and more. Simply click or tap the banner below to sign up.
Comments 2
Job well done by Newcastle Stabilizing Unit, the said Unit real work tirelessly around the clock to combat various crimes, really their co-mandate and co – functions is combat, prevent and investigate all crimes which are terrorizing our commities at large according to Section 205(3) of our beloved Constitution of the Republic of South Africa a job well done in the Provincial Exellent Awards under the good Leadership of Leutenant Colonel NL Dlamini.
If these guys are successful, why is crime rising, what positive impact has their work had on crime in Newcastle ? Why are arrests they make, not translated into convictions in court ? Why are cases they arrest people for, thrown out of court at the first appearance ? When will convictions of criminal get more importance than whitewashed statistics of arrests ?