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nelson mandela bay's family lifestyle
author:
andrew winter
in evil's skin
issue:
9, easter 2009
Looking at their lives on the TV screen, it is a very romantic picture and far removed from the harsh reality of their battle against evil. They entertain us, Jack Bauer rushing to capture the terrorist in 24 hours, Lincoln Rhymes attempting to constrain the smart criminal through intelligent investigation and Sydney Bristow infiltrating criminal syndicates through deep cover operations and many Aliases. Peter White*, you've not heard of. His intelligent investigation, deep cover infiltration and 24-hour rush is not displayed on television and it is not aimed at entertainment. It is very real, very harsh and very active in fighting evil, so that some kind of balance may be retained. *name has been changed to protect identity Peter White is a senior member of the Organized Crime Investigation Unit. He's your neighbour, the man sitting across from you in the coffee shop, or behind you at church. It seems as if he is just another normal “guy”, living a normal life, within normal boundaries. Reality is very different. “My life is exactly the opposite of normal. I'm never 'off'. Syndicates and organized criminal activists never go to bed. Even when I'm at home, my mind is working, trying to make connections, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. There is constant tension and constant danger and constant adrenaline. There are the secrets you have to keep. There are the 'lives' you have to compartmentalize and keep separate.” In his career, Peter White has been part of more than sixty covert operations. It doesn't sound like a lot for a thirty year career, but taking into account that an infiltration expects you to shed your 'self' for two or six months at a time, it is a lifetime in the skin of the evil you want to exterminate. “Sometimes we run two infiltrations simultaneously or continue an infiltration for eighteen months. That is a challenge, but you learn”, he explains. “Not quickly, though, and it is not in everybody's blood. “The greatest challenge is not to become contaminated. You're in that world. You have to act as if you are a part of it. You have to think with its mind and talk with its words. Every moment you have to figure out, how do I retain my integrity, my soul, while emulating this dark world's worst?” Peter White was born for this life. “I grew up admiring the commander of the security branch in our town. He was my best friend's father and the work he did fascinated me.” Two years after joining the police service, Peter was promoted to his first specialist unit. Five years into his service, he was well established at the then Narcotics Division, by way of the Crime Investigation Department. At age 27 Peter White was one of the youngest officers and at age 31 the youngest senior officer in command of syndicate investigations at one of our country's key Crime Investigation Branches. “I've been fortunate to receive excellent training, nationally and internationally. Also to have good mentors, people who understand this work and are passionate about it.” Peter White received training from the American DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), FBI and Her Majesty's Customs & Excise Service. He has passed on this training in manuals created for local training on “raid planning”, “investigative techniques” and “project management principles”. “When I was promoted from syndicate investigation at the Narcotics Bureau, to the Organized Crime Investigation Unit, it was the culmination of 18 years' experience and the opportunity to apply investigative formula’s and techniques learnt and developed all over the country. “In the newspaper you read a headline about a criminal that was caught or convicted. Few people understand how much energy, how many long hours and effort went into pinning that criminal down. Sleepless nights, away from families, exposed to filth in another man's skin. Had it not been for my wife and children, I might never have been able to retain my sanity or my soul. Like others who came before me, I would have succumbed to and been devoured by a world that cannot wait to destroy.” Quite recently it was decided to combine the former Scorpions and the SAPS's special investigation units into a single Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations. I'm not really concerned about the name they pin onto the badge these people carry. I would hope that the DPCI will have men like Peter White leading it; not only for their knowledge, passion & experience, but for their retained integrity, their honesty despite living in a world of deception and for the balance they bring. “I would choose the same, again,” he says, after a moment's thought. “This is fantastic work, allowing me a life few would understand. It challenges me physically, emotionally and intellectually. It affords me the opportunity to taste success, every now and then, making a difference in a way that few are allowed to. Yes, I would definitely choose this again. Don't misunderstand me. There are disappointments and sometimes despondency threatens to drag you into its cave – there will always be more criminals. Don't romanticize my life. It isn't clean and beautiful, like in the movies. There is a lot of fear and pain, dirt and pollution, but somewhere deep inside of me there is an optimism that hasn't been quenched in thirty years. We won't be able to eradicate crime (evil's spawn is part of this reality), but we will contain it and be the thin blue line that maintains a sense of order. I do not envy Peter White the life he's had. I admire him, though, for the containment of evil he facilitated in a fast moving thirty year career. More than that, I admire him for retaining optimism, integrity and a will to make a difference, despite the world he works in.
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