A Port Elizabeth Flying Squad official has scooped a national award for retrieving the most stolen and hijacked vehicles in the country.
Sergeant Severiano Blundin, 33, was given the award by provincial commissioner General Liziwe Ntshinga during a ceremony at the unit's emergency call centre in the suburb of Korsten yesterday.
He was named the winner of the Annual Tracker Individual Award at a ceremony in Midrand, Gauteng, last month.
Blundin joined the police 11 years ago and has recovered 103 stolen or hijacked vehicles. He arrested 130 people in that same period.
As part of the prize, Blundin selected Sinethemba Children's Care Centre in Stanford Road as the beneficiary of R10000 from Tracker.
Blundin said yesterday he was born to fight crime. He comes across as a dedicated officer who goes above and beyond to take criminals off the streets.
"I was born to be a policeman. Ever since being a child it is all I wanted to do. Every car I get back and every criminal I arrest, is me doing my little bit to keep people safer," he said.
"When your car is hijacked or stolen, it is a massive financial burden. Each culprit I arrest and vehicle I recovered, I know someone somewhere is grateful, that is all I want."
Asked how he managed to do better than officers in other provinces in finding stolen cars and arresting both hijackers and thieves, Blundin said it was persistence and not giving up.
"I never give up. I go to the crime hot spots and stop cars knowing that I will eventually find something.
"By going straight to the hot spot areas you increase your chances of either arresting a criminal or finding a hijacked car back," he said while laughing.
In addition, the Port Elizabeth K9 unit received an award for the best performing unit in the province. The unit recovered 37 stolen or hijacked cars and arrested 14 people over the past year. Both units have been plagued by constant vehicle shortages for more than five years.
Flying Squad members are loaning response cars for emergencies.
Asked what was going to be done to resolve this, Ntshinga said yesterday both units would be receiving new vehicles to beef up their fleet soon.
The K9 unit head Lieutenant Colonel Chris Marais said that his team was honoured to receive the prestigious award.
Tracker's operations director Ron Knott-Craig said Blundin and the K9 unit's results - based on the ratio of crime and incidents in the Nelson Mandela Bay - were the best in the country.
The figures are based on a ratio that compares the number of vehicles in a city or province against the number of stolen or hijacked vehicles.
"It is very encouraging to see such dedication and commitment to fighting crime. Out of all the policing units and officials in the country, the Bay scooped two of these awards which speaks for itself," he said.
Cop wins accolades for recovering stolen vehicles
A Port Elizabeth Flying Squad official has scooped a national award for retrieving the most stolen and hijacked vehicles in the country.
Sergeant Severiano Blundin, 33, was given the award by provincial commissioner General Liziwe Ntshinga during a ceremony at the unit's emergency call centre in the suburb of Korsten yesterday.
He was named the winner of the Annual Tracker Individual Award at a ceremony in Midrand, Gauteng, last month.
Blundin joined the police 11 years ago and has recovered 103 stolen or hijacked vehicles. He arrested 130 people in that same period.
As part of the prize, Blundin selected Sinethemba Children's Care Centre in Stanford Road as the beneficiary of R10000 from Tracker.
Blundin said yesterday he was born to fight crime. He comes across as a dedicated officer who goes above and beyond to take criminals off the streets.
"I was born to be a policeman. Ever since being a child it is all I wanted to do. Every car I get back and every criminal I arrest, is me doing my little bit to keep people safer," he said.
"When your car is hijacked or stolen, it is a massive financial burden. Each culprit I arrest and vehicle I recovered, I know someone somewhere is grateful, that is all I want."
Asked how he managed to do better than officers in other provinces in finding stolen cars and arresting both hijackers and thieves, Blundin said it was persistence and not giving up.
"I never give up. I go to the crime hot spots and stop cars knowing that I will eventually find something.
"By going straight to the hot spot areas you increase your chances of either arresting a criminal or finding a hijacked car back," he said while laughing.
In addition, the Port Elizabeth K9 unit received an award for the best performing unit in the province. The unit recovered 37 stolen or hijacked cars and arrested 14 people over the past year. Both units have been plagued by constant vehicle shortages for more than five years.
Flying Squad members are loaning response cars for emergencies.
Asked what was going to be done to resolve this, Ntshinga said yesterday both units would be receiving new vehicles to beef up their fleet soon.
The K9 unit head Lieutenant Colonel Chris Marais said that his team was honoured to receive the prestigious award.
Tracker's operations director Ron Knott-Craig said Blundin and the K9 unit's results - based on the ratio of crime and incidents in the Nelson Mandela Bay - were the best in the country.
The figures are based on a ratio that compares the number of vehicles in a city or province against the number of stolen or hijacked vehicles.
"It is very encouraging to see such dedication and commitment to fighting crime. Out of all the policing units and officials in the country, the Bay scooped two of these awards which speaks for itself," he said.
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