Having risen through the ranks, metro police chief Yolande Faro – who was named the Ultimate Bay Stars Award winner at the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal awards this week – believes hard work will define you and show what you are worth.
Earlier in the night, Faro won the Women Achiever Award and during her speech on Thursday at a ceremony held at the Feather Market Centre, she said residents of the city needed to live up to the name Nelson Mandela and turn every obstacle into an opportunity.
“Let’s serve and protect the entire metro.”
Faro, who has been in law enforcement for 20 years, said she did not see her job as just a job but more of a passion, and she could not picture herself doing anything else.
“I wouldn’t be able to function if I wasn’t doing this job.
“For me the community comes first and over the years my family has come to understand this. It’s not malicious, but they’ve realised it’s never going to change.”
Faro said her victory at the awards was not her own but rather for all other women who worked in male-dominated spaces such as herself.
She said she wanted to be a role model for other women and show them it was possible to achieve their goals and dreams.
“Women who are appointed in male-dominated industries are often looked at as equity appointments, but I decided that I would study and always make sure I had the necessary requirements.
“I started from the bottom and went up through the ranks.
“As a woman you need to make sure you know the environment you’re working in and that’s how you will earn respect.
“You don’t need to act like a man to gain respect, pretend or be part of the boys’ club.
“They will see what and who you are through your work.”
Faro started her career as a traffic warden in Cape Town in 1998, then went on to do traffic officer training in 1999. From there she decided to join the city police.
She became a sergeant and was deputy chief for six years before eventually spending a year as the acting chief of police in Cape Town and then coming to the Bay metro.
Faro started her position as chief of the metro police on December 1 2016.
She said when she came to the city there had been no metro police in place, no offices, and she had to start from nothing.
“I didn’t have a budget and I had to look for a building, buy cars and had to lobby [for] capital projects from the safety and security directorate.
“I didn’t have buildings for my staff so what I did was I sat with facility management and looked at where strategically the offices are according to crime stats and we came up with Bethelsdorp and KwaNobuhle,” Faro said.
In less than two years, the metro police’s 127 officers have made 633 arrests.
Faro said she would like to see a satellite precinct in all 60 wards of the metro and for her department to grow and work with the community.
“I want our officers to know how many people are out on parole in the different wards, how many old people live there and how many of those old people need assistance with getting to Sassa [SA Social Security Agency] offices so they can sort out their issues.”
Faro, who said she sleeps for only two hours a night, added that there were no set hours for a metro cop and people needed to be available 24/7.
“I want everyone to be on the ground and working, from top management to the junior officer. We want to make a difference in the community,” she said.