CSS Tactical announced today that former South African Police Service (SAPS) ‘top cops’ Major General Bushie Engelbrecht and Brigadier Piet Byleveld have joined the company and will be dealing with investigations and special corporate projects.

Major General Bushie Engelbrecht recently took early retirement from SAPS after completing more than 43 years service. He had just turned 16 years old when he joined the police force in 1967 and after ten months of basic training still had not reached the age of 17 when he first became a police officer. In 1969, he became a detective and excelled as an investigator.  He became a Lieutenant in 1978 and reached the rank of Assistant Commissioner (now Major General) during 2002 when he was appointed as Deputy Provincial Commissioner: Detective and Crime Intelligence Services for Gauteng.  At the time of his retirement at the end of June this year, he was the Commander of the Alexandra Cluster.

He has commanded several units, the first commencing at age 24. These appointments include Commander of the SAPS Dog School, Pretoria West and Commander of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which was established on 1 December 1995 to investigate high profile crimes, syndicates and matters referred to the Unit by the National Commissioner of Police.

Engelbrecht has supervised numerous high profile investigations including the politically motivated Shobashobane massacres in Port Shepstone and the Richmond (KZN) killings; the Griffiths Mxenge murder (Vlakplaas operatives), Chinese triads (murders and organised crime), cash in transit armed robberies (e.g. Bronkhorstspruit and Siyabuswa as well as the escape and re-arrest of Colin Chauke).

This extraordinary law enforcement achiever has received ten official medals (SOE & SOEG) and numerous other commendations.  He is the author of several police training manuals and has written a book about his investigations into the political violence in KwaZulu-Natal. The Star named him as one of the ‘Top 10 Newsmakers of the Year’ in 1997. Engelbrecht holds a BA degree in Police Science and believes that the sky is the limit in all aspects of life.

Brigadier Piet Byleveld, who often worked with Engelbrecht, retired from the SAPS at the end of June 2010 after a long and outstanding career. “Being a police officer has been my mission and my passion for the past 38 years, and spreading the message of justice will remain my vision for the rest of my life. If I had to summarise everything I believe in and hopefully represent and symbolise in one word, it would have be: HOPE,” says Byleveld.

A modest and unassuming man, Byleveld has accomplished much in his career and is the longest serving murder and robbery investigator in the SAPS.

He has acted as the Commanding Officer of the Murder and Robbery Unit as well as the Serious Violent Crimes Unit in Johannesburg for extended periods.

As a result of his experience and reputation, his astounding success rate, expertise and proven record of credibility in the Regional and High Courts of South Africa he has regularly been asked to undertake a wide range of investigations including serial killer cases and special investigations.

He has solved many high profile cases such as the Sheldean Human Murder (2006), the Leigh Mathews Abduction and Murder (2004), Johannesburg Mine Dump Serial Killer (2003), the Hillbrow Serial Rapist (2003), and the Kranskop Serial Killer (1996). At the time of his retirement, he was involved in an ongoing investigation into club bouncers and related drug issues and he and his team had already had considerable success in this regard.

Byleveld’s passion for justice and his unerring ability to solve cases and secure convictions has earned him numerous commendations and awards, which include being nominated amongst the top ten ‘Heroes Category’ and for the past four years as one of the ‘Top 100 Newsmakers of the Year’ published in The Star newspaper.

This dedicated and thorough Investigation Officer will leave no stone unturned to bring offenders to book. His efforts have been consistently rewarded by the SAPS and he has received numerous medals for combating terrorism, faithful service, long service and he is one of only seven police officers to date who have received the prestigious SA Police Service Commendation Medal. He has also received awards from Interpol.

He is internationally recognised for his investigative expertise. Members of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the London Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard), the Canadian Police and Israel’s Mossad have been to South Africa to seek his guidance in the investigation of serial killings.

Byleveld is widely respected for his leadership qualities and the trusting relationships that he maintains with his colleagues and others.

"We're proud and honoured to welcome these highly regarded and expert police specialists to our team of executives”, said Ricky Croock MD of CSS Tactical.

"Engelbrecht and Byleveld’s experience and reputation in law enforcement and investigation is unsurpassed. In addition, they both have the unique quality of being able to work at the highest level of law enforcement while still maintaining a solid relationship and the respect of all levels within the force and externally.”

CSS Tactical combines technological superiority and tactical expertise to deliver proactive, rather than reactive, exceptional security service delivery. Operating from a centralised national service centre in Johannesburg this innovative and effective security company provides high-end professional safety and security services.

CSS Tactical‘s sole purpose is to address and, subsequently, reduce the high crime rate in the areas in which they are operate. A specific example of this is the company’s CCTV camera contracts for the Sandton CBD, an area where crime has been significantly reduced over the past few years.  The company's ability to capture critical and material incident information in less than 1.8 seconds, allows CSS Tactical to ensure an unparalleled rapid and appropriate response.

For further information please contact:

CSS Tactical:                Ricky Croock

Tel:                              0861-911-119 (+2711-666-5600 if calling from outside South Africa)

eMail                           ricky@csstactical.co.za

Website:                     http://www.csstactical.co.za