SA Man of the Week - Piet Beyleveld

South Africa’s super cop... Piet Byleveld, is one of the best known detectives in the world!

SAMEN caught up with him at his book launch, "Byleveld: Dossier of a Serial Sleuth" by Hanlie Retief.

He loves South Africa and its beautiful people - he wants to live in a crime-free country and he believes it is possible. That is his biggest hope in life!

He is now retired, but his life-long commitment to serving the people of South Africa still holds firm. He advises everyone to get to know some of their neighbours, and generally to take note of who lives in and travels through their area and to be observant.

He also strongly supports the idea of policing on foot, as opposed to police officers riding around in fancy cars – as well as a more stringent process to recruit only police officers with the necessary dedication to do a good job. Police officers should not be out to just arrest criminals, they should be out to get convictions. He said that the specialized units are essential to solve cases effectively and get convictions.

His reputation is built on a 100 percent success rate with bringing serial murderers to justice. He has several exceptional talents, the most exceptional of which is his total dedication - he will not rest or give up until he solved the crime. He is the recipient of several international awards, he is consulted by FBI and Scotland Yard, amongst various other international agencies.

Here he answers the question - "...could you perhaps start a detective school?"

In an interview on 702 talk radio, he also mentioned that he would be very interested in assisting in training of police officers.