Reminiscences of a Railways Policeman: Keith

REMINISCENCES OF A RAILWAYS POLICEMAN

by Keith Blake

Keith Blake

THE WHEEL TURNS: POLICE STORY.

We all know this saying and it's meaning in other words it is similar to having revenge, but this plays out as a reward for wrongs done or said. Now in my police career I had met lots of different security companies performing different roles for a while or a season depending on their contracts or performance. Now the story I am about to tell goes about a supervisor an ex policeman with a big attitude. He did not greet, nor spoke to me, as if he had a dislike in me and if we had to speak, one could pick up the arrogance, but as with fishing the fish is caught on the right tide and bait. and of course patience. Now this arrogant supervisor's security company had one massive task to look after the thousands upon thousands of bags of 50 kg rice bags being offloaded from a ship onto H and J quayside. There had been arrests of persons stealing rice or rice bags being found hidden in toilets on the quays. Now one night shift a taxi driver told me that two security guards wanted him to take bags of the rice they were guarding to be sold to a buyer in Brooklyn. This was the security guards of the arrogant supervisor. I told the taxi to play along and also on what route to take through Paarden Island industrial area. I arrange for my members, who are on Facebook but will leave out their names, to go and wait in Paarden Island as I wanted an arrest OUTSIDE the harbour to make a solid case. Well all my plans in place and now as in fishing waiting to hook the fish in the mouth. After a while I received a radio call the one security officer was arrested and bags of rice was found in the taxi's boot. I told my colleagues to bring the security and the taxi to the quayside where we arrested a second shocked security officer involved in the theft. I then told the charge office to contact the security company's control room and to request their supervisor to come to J/H quayside as I have a problem and yes, the arrogant supervisor arrived, and on seeing his two fully uniformed officers in handcuffs demanded the hand cuffs be taken off his two officers wrists. This is where the wheel his wheels came off and I told him, that these hand cuffs will stay on as we have arrested two thieves, two criminals for stealing rice they were suppose to guard. With no further words, with an superior attitude we left for the charge office. The supervisor gave me a look and grabbed his radio to give feedback to his control. A little while later the supervisor came to my office and politely asked me what the whole procedure will be and I told him. He then politely asked me if he could remove all their security company's insignia from his two security officers as this will not look good at all in the cells and in an open courtroom. Now here was my revenge, here was my big payback and I said the following: "JA MENEER JY MAG MAAR DIE RANG TEKENS VERWYDER. EK STEM SAAM MET U DIT SAL NIE GOED LYK IN DIE HOF NIE."

BUBBLEGUM BUST.

There are some things that used to be so popular years ago but slowly moves into almost extinction without much notification. One of these items is Chappies bubblegum. This bubblegum was chewed and puffed out in all manner of ways but it also made us intelligent because of the DID YOU KNOW information in the inside of the wrapping. Many years ago as a member of the S.A. Railways Police at Table Bay Harbour I had a part in the Bubblegum bust because of my sons Jacky and Morne. Let me explain the story. One afternoon when I arrived home my two young sons came chewing into the house and they had this bag of large unknown brand bubblegum sweets. They told me that their friends around the corner gave it to them and that they had lots of this bubblegum. I went to a meeting the next day with the harbour captain and then I heard during tea time the people talking about a container of bubble gum. I on further enquiries found out that a container of bubblegum had broken during offloading and bubblegum was lying all over the quayside at Ben Schoeman Harbour. This lead to persons picking up this bounty in large quantities and taking it for themselves and when I was shown a sample it was the same brand my sons had been given by their friends. The Truck Theft unit then did an investigation and apparently this bubblegum was recovered at shops. food fairs and church bazaars.