Metro Officers get Promoted!

The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) recently celebrated the promotion of five female and eight male officers from the rank of Constable to Sergeant and Inspector.

The newly promoted officers were congratulated by Acting Chief of Police, Angie Mokasi, and the JMPD leadership.

am overwhelmed and extremely grateful. I thank the Lord Almighty for answering my prayers.” cation; encryption; strong password policies and assigning credentials and rights only to those who require access. said: “I

The promoted officers will be deployed to the Metropolitan Police Academy, Internal Affairs and Operations Directorate.

“The damage caused by emails sent by cybercriminals that look like from within an organisation is extensive. This fraud tries to create a sense of urgency or use scare tactics to coerce the victim into complying with the attacker’s requests. Emails with requests for quick payment should be handled with caution, as emails can be spoofed with legitimate invoices but with cybercriminal banking details,” says Van Vlaanderen.

She adds that many organisations still do not understand where their most valuable data and systems lie, and have inadequate protection.

“Build an understanding of all data points in your business, enabling a clear strategy on the data that is collected and stored. Irrespective of the size of the organisation data protection is a must. It can be in the form of staff training, following compliance guidelines, using appropriate software and ensuring data storage is secure and backed up, and a data recovery strategy in place,” she says.

She predicts that adoption of smart technologies, IOT devices, car connectivity and infotainment will also present new attack vectors for cybercriminals this year.

“Given attacks becoming more sophisticated and personalised, people and organisations can’t afford to be without protective solutions in place,” she adds.

“Welcome on board. As of now, you have to think like managers. As much as you are liberated in terms of the rank, you need to think differently so that together we can take the department forward and become a force to be reckoned with,” said Acting Chief Mokasi.

The officers were happy when they received their new ranks, excited to add extra value to their new positions.

Acting Chief Mokasi and the JMPD leadership reminded them that they have important responsibilities to ensure that officers perform their best in serving and protecting the community of the City of Johannesburg.

She also encouraged them to continue to perform their duties with diligence and pride.

The JMPD is proud of the newly promoted officers and their accomplishments. Congratulations to the five female and eight male officers for their promotions!

Close to a thousand bodies unclaimed in Gauteng!

As the number of unclaimed and unidentified bodies skyrockets in government morgues, the Gauteng Health Department has called on families and relatives of missing persons to visit Forensic Pathology Service (FPS) mortuaries to check if loved ones are not part of unclaimed and unidentified bodies.

MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, says there are 938 unclaimed and unidentified bodies across 11 FPS mortuaries unclaimed by families.

In Joburg, about 187 unclaimed bodies have been reported.

She added that it is concerning that the number of unclaimed and identified bodies is increasing by the day.

A family member or relative who wishes to identify their loved one should have their original Identity Document (ID), ID of the deceased or birth certificate if the deceased is a child. If the deceased is a foreign national, a passport, asylum seeker certificate or a letter from country of origin confirming who the deceased is and to whom the remains should be handed over to is needed.

Once a body of a deceased is not identified or claimed within seven days, fingerprints are sent to the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Criminal Record Centre for identification and to the Department of Home Affairs for matching with their records.

MEC further indicated that If the identification process was successful, the next of kin are made aware of the deceased through the SAPS’s Investigating Officer for final release and burial or cremation. If the body is still unidentified 30 days after exhausting means of identification including the use of fingerprints, pauper burial processes are used for the final burial of the deceased.