DURBAN - WORKING in law enforcement was a badge of honour for a group of police officers who regrouped after retiring and continued to fight crime.
The group, called Mount Edgecombe Reunion, was assembled five years ago and with 120 members of retired officers.
Executive member, Prithveraj Deoraj, lauded the group for going beyond the call of duty.
“The reason we decided to regroup as ex-cops was because of the crime that many citizens are victims of. We use the skills we acquired while we were still police officers to fight crime,” said Deoraj.
Deoraj joined the SAPS in the 1970s and was among the officers who were deployed to Johannesburg during the Soweto Uprising in 1976.
He retired in 2000.
He also worked in places such as KwaMashu and Inanda, which were ranked in the top as a crime hotbed by Police Minister Bheki Cele when he released 2017/2018 crime statistics.
Deoraj said the decision to regroup was triggered by the scourge of crime, which, he says, is alarming in many Durban suburbs.
“What is also to our advantage is that we know the modus operandi that is used by criminals whether when hijacking cars or house breaking,” he said.
Cele heaped praise on the group and encouraged more retired cops to follow suit in a bid to curb crime.