Celebrating the legacy of Warrant Officer Donavan Abrahams at Pinelands police

Veteran police officer, Warrant Officer Donavan Abrahams, bid farewell to Pinelands police station at the end of last month.

Warrant Officer Abrahams, 56, from Bishop Lavis, served in the South African Police Service for 37 years, the last 16 of which were at Pinelands police station.

He began his policing career at the age of 19 at Bishop Lavis police station, where he served for six months.

He then spent 15 years at Langa police station, during which time he was deployed to Pretoria in 1991 to assist with political violence.

He also provided support at Gugulethu, Nyanga, and Claremont police stations.

He went on to serve at Maitland police station for six years before joining Pinelands police station in 2009, where he remained until his retirement last month.

For 26 years of his policing career, he worked as a crime information management analyst.

He said his role involved identifying and analysing crime patterns in the area, examining reported incidents across different parts of the precinct, the types of crimes committed, and how frequently they occurred in each section of the community.

“We would present our statistics to management, and it would help to determine which areas the police would pay more attention to,” he said.

Warrant Officer Abrahams chose to become a police officer because he always wanted to make a difference in the community.

“I grew up in Bishop Lavis, there was frequent fighting in the community, and seeing these incidents, I felt like I needed to do something,” he said.

Over the years, he often found himself in the firing line while on active duty. He was shot at, assaulted, and threatened by criminals.

“There is always anxiety and fear whenever we go out to work,” he said, “though you work through it and watch your back.”

After all these years working for the police, Warrant Officer Abrahams says getting that 'Thank you' from the community still gives him satisfaction.

“I am a public servant, I am serving the people that depend on us and need us,” he said.

Pinelands police station commander, Lieutenant Colonel Darleen Koopman, said she is heartbroken that Warrant Officer Abrahams is leaving.

“He is one of the legends of the station; he compiles the crime data for the station and will direct our team to where the crimes are occurring,” she said.

Lieutenant Colonel Koopman said he gave the police guidance.

“We just want to bless him for the future,” she said.

Although Warrant Officer Abrahams has left Pinelands police station, he is still deciding on his next move.