Johannesburg has a new police chief

The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) has a new police chief: David Tembe.

This was announced by Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba on Wednesday.

“I would like to express my deepest appreciation to JMPD's leadership team for providing the necessary support during the past transition period. I have every confidence in Mr Tembe’s abilities and look forward to working with him as we run a corruption-free city that respects the rule of law and stimulates economic growth for our people‚” Mashaba said.

Tembe began his duties as the new chief of JMPD on Tuesday.

Tembe's public safety career began in 1981 as a paramedic with the Johannesburg Emergency Services (EMS). He became a superintendant in 1989‚ and in 1999 was appointed acting director in charge of the emergency services academy.

He was appointed director of operations in 2001‚ where he was responsible for leading the city's 26 fire stations. In 2002 Tembe was appointed acting chief of the emergency management services‚ where under his stewardship the urban search and rescue was established. It represented South Africa during disasters in Algeria and Iran.

After serving for close to 20 years with the EMS‚ Tembe was appointed director of operations for the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) in 2003. During this time‚ he was awarded and commended by the National Department of Transport for innovation and excellence in traffic law enforcement.

In 2011‚ Tembe was appointed national chief of traffic at the Road Traffic Management Corporation until he resigned to pursue a career as a consultant in law enforcement in 2013.

Tembe holds a national diploma in personnel management‚ metro policing‚ and FBI Law Enforcement Executive Leadership (Virginia‚ USA). He has also attended seminars on law enforcement leadership in the USA since 2009.