- Lt Col Darleen Koopman, the new Station Commander at Pinelands Police Station, is settling in and ready to collaborate with community stakeholders to combat crime effectively.
- She brings extensive experience from various roles, including four years at Parliament, and expresses confidence in the support of safety stakeholders like the CPF and neighbourhood watches.
- Koopman emphasizes the importance of residents reporting crimes and encourages whistleblowers to come forward regarding corruption, highlighting a proactive approach to law enforcement and community engagement.
Settling in after her first month at Pinelands Police Station as the newly appointed Station Commander, Lt Col Darleen Koopman is ready to combat crime with the community’s safety stakeholders.
“Everyone has been so welcoming; you know that there is a community out there that wants to work with you and ensuring their safety is a core function,” shared Koopman.
She was sworn in her rank as Lieutenant Colonel on Saturday 1 May, filling the shoes of Lt Col Anton van den Berg following his retirement in March (“Pinelands commander bids farewell”, People’s Post 2 April).
First and foremost, she acknowledged her new colleagues: “I have wonderful people working at the police station. For me, it’s all about interaction, assistance and that one-on-one with the officers because I’m a people person.
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“Secondly, it was good to meet our neighbourhood watch, meeting the CPF chair Aslam Clarke and engaging with the community itself, doing patrols and, you know, just saying ‘hi’.”
Parliament
Her experience as a police officer includes four years in Parliament.
However, strictly confidential, she was able to say: “Working at Parliament is totally different than working at a station. There, our priority is to guard the President, the Deputy President and all the ministers, which entail guarding their properties.”
Originally from Blackheath, Koopman spent the past 30 years in different roles.
She began as a clerk at Nyanga Police Station. Having served the past nine years at Kraaifontein Police Station, Koopman’s experience is mapped wide in the province at stations like Cape Town Central, Camps Bay and Franschhoek.
In Pinelands, Koopman is confident that her safety stakeholders have her back.
“I can simply phone Aslam, he sends the message out and I can rest assured the CPF and neighbourhood watches kick into gear.”
Here, she took the opportunity to emphasise the importance of residents to report any and all crimes: “They must come and register and give any helpful information of things happening in the area… we cannot act on crime, unless we know about crime.”
Speaking on her attitude towards corruption, Koopman said: “We need whistle-blowers. Should anyone in our community witness or know about corruption, they must please submit a statement to be commissioned and escalated for investigation.”
