Growing up in the small town of Great Brak River in the Southern Cape, seeing young men in crisp new uniforms was what first sparked his interest.
Now 32 years later, Lt Col Wynand Muller has made a successful career of policing, even winning some awards along the way.
Heading up the Lansdowne Police Station as acting station commander since early August, Muller brings with him a wealth of operational experience, most recently spent at Manenberg Police Station.
He started his career at Diep River Police Station in 1991, after police college, and worked at several local police stations, including Claremont, Mowbray and Wynberg.
In 1997, Muller joined the Provincial Reaction Unit, working primarily on the Cape Flats.
In the early 2000s, he returned to Mowbray before being promoted in 2002.
“I was then stationed at Manenberg, where I was involved in Vispol policing,” Muller related.
“My background is in crime prevention. I was then promoted to major there, and I was stationed there until being sent here.
“I had been at Manenberg for 22 years and had most of my focus on gangsterism, drugs and firearms and robbery. In my time there I managed to build up a big informer network.
“This helped us a lot in recovering big quantities of drugs and firearms. I believe in partnership policing. This is some of what I want to bring to my time in Lansdowne.”
It is a definite change of pace in the types of crime and the level of resources, Muller said.
Muller will focus on tracking and tracing a number of wanted suspects and re-establishing the trust and partnership in policing relations with the community.
“I come from a brigadier-level station and this is a colonel-level station, so immediately your resources are less than half and you have less to work with. We are going to rely on partnership policing with the community policing forum, neighbourhood watches and security companies alongside the community.
“Luckily, the crime is very low here. Looking at the first quarter crime statistics, the incidents of housebreaking are very low. Ultimately, we do not want to have any crime, but unfortunately, we have it.
“We have no incidents of gangsterism here. Property-related crimes, including theft from motor vehicles, are a concern, but it is also not very high.”
Excited about the opportunity and challenge, he is ready for what is to come. With his background in operational policing, he also looks forward to bringing this expertise.
Muller has won the provincial police award for the best Vispol Officer of the Year for two consecutive years. He also represented the province in the national awards and in January was named Best Vispol Officer in South Africa.
He will be stationed at Lansdowne Police Station provisionally until the end of January next year.
