It’s not very often that one is told to prepare a business plan for the province’s top cop and it gets approved at its first tabling.
This is the feat Chief Superintendent Eldred Fortein achieved after being tasked with the responsibility of drafting and presenting the JMPD 2019/2020 business plan to the Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela.
“The business plan was accepted, approved and signed off on the very same day,” he adds.
Boasting a prolific career spanning over two decades working for three metro police departments in Gauteng, Chief Superintendent Eldred Fortein says he is just itching to get more achievement in his working space.
The 44-year-old Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) Chief Superintendent cut his police teeth at the then Benoni Traffic Department (now Ekurhuleni Metro Police) in 1995, before moving up the ranks.
After serving for 16 years, he headed north to the Tshwane Metro Police Department where he worked as an Inspector.
Still looking for new challenges and growth, the KwaZulu-Natal-born and Joburg-bred Fortein headed south to join the JMPD in 2014 as a Superintendent in the office of the JMPD’s Chief of Police. He was promoted to Assistant Director and later transferred to Chief Superintendent in the Office of the Chief of Police, tasked with strategic support in November 2018.
“The promotion came at the right time when I was ready for it. I’m a well-rounded manager, and have worked and been mentored by incredible Chiefs of Police across metro police departments in Gauteng,” says the father of five, three girls and two boys.
What more does Chief Superintendent Fortein, currently serving as the JMPD Staff Officer, want to accomplish in his career?
“I’m still young. I aspire to be a director in the office of the Chief of Police in a few years’ time. It doesn’t end there, I also want to be a Deputy Chief and ultimately a Police Chief. That’s why I work so hard and continue with my studies. The sky isn’t the limit.”
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Police Practice, a National Diploma in Policing, a National Certificate in Traffic Science and a National Certificate in Crime Resolving. He is currently completing an Honours degree at the Southern Business School.
The Chief Superintendent is one of a few people in the JMPD to hold a top secret security clearance certificate from the State Security Agency (SSA).
Chief Superintendent Fortein and his team were instrumental in facilitating a partnership last year between the JMPD and Chinese university, the Peoples Public Security University of China, to offer JMPD officers a variety of courses.
When he is not at work, he spends time reading self-enrichment and academic books, a passion he’s passed on to his wife and eldest daughter, who are both Officers at the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department.
Written by Takalani Sioga
