BRIGADIER Indera Chetty was the first Indian female to be recruited into the South African Police Force (SAPF) in 1982.
Formerly from Merebank, Chetty worked at the SAPF Training College in Wentworth from May 1982, training women who joined the police force.
She retired from her position as commander of the SAPS Training College, in Pretoria, some 20 years ago.
However, she remains actively involved as a board member of the SAPS Widows and Orphans Fund, ensuring that the families of fallen policemen and women receive continued support from SAPS.
After being in the education profession for 20 years, Chetty said she saw an advert for the first recruitment of Indian female police officers and felt an urge to apply.
At the time she had been employed as the deputy principal at St Anthony's Catholic Primary School.
She immediately applied as she had a passion for policing which was sparked by her husband, the late General Morgan Chetty, who was the first Indian deputy national commissioner of police in 1994.
“When I was at university I did criminology as a module, so I had some knowledge of the police department and criminal procedures. I was happy in my job as a teacher, but when the first recruitment for Indian police women was advertised, I was eager to apply.
“At the time, we were living in Merebank and had two daughters who were in primary school. I needed to juggle working in policing and taking care of my family. I did what it took. Being the first Indian female in the police force was a challenge. We had to work through a lot of difficult situations back then, which was also the apartheid era. We were confined to Indian police stations and people were hesitant to give their cases to Indian females because they were used to having the men doing the policing.
“But as time went by, communities received us well and they encouraged and supported us. They got to know that we could handle the situations that some of the men had difficulty with like rape cases and child and women abuse. Women were better at doing those investigations,” she said.
Chetty was sent on various courses and she climbed up the ranks in policing, paving the way for and inspiring other young Indian women and mothers to join the SAPF.
“Indian females were the last race group that were recruited. We started with 16 females in 1982. Many of them had been working as clerical assistants at police stations. They were knowledgeable when it came to police work. At the time the discipline in the police force was something that had me in awe.
“People saw police officers as people of authority and they were well respected. Police went out of their way to serve the public and solve cases. Discipline was one of the priorities of the police during training and they carried that discipline into the field and in their work. Officers took pride in their uniform. Even the women would ‘bone’ (shine) their shoes and make it shine,” she added.
In 1991, her husband was transferred to Pretoria but Chetty remained in Merebank until a position became available for her.
“They could not find a post for me in Pretoria. The college there was for whites only. The head office was also whites only. I thought of going back to teaching, but then I met a general who said he would be able to make a post available for me in Silverton, at an institution where senior police officials were being trained.
“In 1992, I began lecturing senior police officers in Silverton. I thereafter was appointed as the commander of the SAPS Training College in Pretoria, where I served until my retirement,” Chetty said.
She served as a board member for the SAPS Elderly Care Fund until 2019, and was instrumental in starting the Ladies Police Club in Pretoria. She also served on the board of the SAPS magazine, Servamus. During her time in Durban, she started the Ladies Club for the wives of police officers to network and offer support to each other.
Highlights in her career include being invited to the home of Nelson Mandela when he became president and being the first Indian woman to be invited to parliament and be present at a session in 1984.
Chetty will be honoured at an inaugural event celebrating her legacy - her historic achievement of commanding the first group of women who joined the police in 1982.
The event will be held today and will be hosted by the first group of women that Chetty trained.