- Capt Liaan Janse van Rensburg, the new station commander at Camps Bay Police Station, aims to make Camps Bay one of the safest suburbs in the Western Cape.
- With 22 years of service, he emphasises collaboration with local safety groups and plans regular meetings to develop crime prevention strategies.
- He also focuses on restoring community trust in the police through an open-door policy and increased visible policing.
Ensuring Camps Bay is one of the safest suburbs in the Western Cape is one of the top priorities for Capt Liaan Janse van Rensburg, the occupant of the station commander seat at the Camps Bay Police Station.
The captain, who has served the country for the past 22 years, took office on Wednesday 1 May.
He explains that his passion for bringing about positive change in the country was piqued in 2002 when he decided to complete the police training course.
Following the training, he was placed at Bellville Police Station where he worked as a sergeant for about 19 years.
In 2021, he went to Rondebosch Police Station where he was promoted to Warrant Officer, then shift commander and later became acting vispol commander.
The officer, who has only been in his new leadership role for about three weeks, says he is ready for the challenge.
“I am taking it one day at a time. My vision is to work hand-in-hand with the external role players and to make Camps Bay one of the safest suburbs within the borders of South Africa for anyone to come and enjoy this holiday destination.”
Janse van Rensburg adds he hopes to restore the community’s trust in the police.
He regards working with existing safety structures in the community as essential.
“I saw a big need for a partnership group to be established, where all of us come together once a week. Where one of the visible policing members share the previous week’s crime.
“This is not a meeting where we blame anyone. It is about us coming together so that we can understand each other and work as a team. Here we will also brainstorm ideas on how to tackle crime in the area and to have a more preventative approach to crime.”
He explains that the meetings take place at 10:00 on Mondays and will in future be held at the Glen Country Club in Camps Bay.
According to Janse van Rensburg, the partnership group includes safety role players in the area, including law enforcement, neighbourhood watches, private security, Community Policing Forum (CPF) members, SANParks and residents.
He says he looks forward to his new team of dedicated men and women in blue.
Janse van Rensburg says people leaving valuable items unattended in their vehicles and on the beach is a major concern and appeals to beachgoers to be responsible.
Theresa Massaglia, co-founder of Ignisive – ignite inclusive change – a local organisation that consists of various entities from local government, police, businesses and residents, says as an organisation they look forward to working with Janse van Rensburg.
“We are happy to have new leadership at the station again because there was a vacancy for a long time.
“It is good to have someone at the helm and to help lead some critical components.”
The officer says he will focus on more crime awareness campaigns and ensure more visible policing.
“I appeal to everyone to work with me to make Camps Bay a safer place for all of us. Report all crime no matter how small.”
