Commissioner Josephine Shambare was born in the year 1960 in Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe.

She joined the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) in 1984 and rose through the ranks due to outstanding performance at each level – earning her the rank of Deputy Commissioner General.  She retired from the ZRP in 2018 as a very senior officer with deep understanding and extensive experience in all facets of national, regional and international policing; in areas of Crime, Operations, Human Resources and administration.  She was therefore exposed to large team management, both as team leader and team player.

She studied for her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology specializing in Child Sexual Abuse with the Zimbabwe Open University in 2020.  She also holds the following qualifications.

2003. Master of Business Administration (MBA) University of Zimbabwe 2003.
2004. Master of Education (Educational Administration) M. Ed (ED. Admin) University of Zimbabwe 1996.
2005. Bachelor of Administration; University of Zimbabwe- 1983.
2006. Diploma in Management: Henley Management College, UK – (2000).
2007. Diploma in Adult Education (Train the trainer); Zimbabwe Republic Police in conjunction with the University of Zimbabwe- 1993.

Her major achievements were as follows: She provided Consultancy to the Namibian Police Force for the introduction, adoption and implementation of Strategic planning. She crafted the Namibian Police Force Strategic Plan and its attendant strategies.  The Strategic Plan ensured that the interests of the People of Namibia were safeguarded in policing.  Commissioner Shambare became the first female Commander of the Police Support Unit; a Specialist and Para-military Wing of the Zimbabwe Republic Police responsible for public order management, protection of VIPs and VVIPs, Sub aqua and anti-poaching duties; among others. She also became the first female Commandant (Head of Recruit Training) of Morris Depot; a first in the history of the Police Force since its inception in 1980. She participated in the transformation process of the Lesotho Mounted Police which was para-military in nature and was not palatable to the people; to a Lesotho Police Service which respected the rights of the people.  She was appointed a Board member of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings assigned to the Marketing and Security Sub-committees for three years. Commissioner Shambare was instrumental in the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s turn- around Strategy of 1995 code-named Zimbabwe Police Organization Development Programme (ZIMPOD) aimed at improving Operational, Administrative and Managerial efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.

Commissioner Shambare performed police functions as per Section 219 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (N0. 20) Act 2013. She served the Zimbabwe Republic Police as a law enforcer conducting the duties of, crime prevention, detection and investigation for thirty-four years. She was instrumental in policing crimes against vulnerable victims especially children, the disabled, women and the aged; and quelling domestic disputes for the well-being of families. In essence, her duties as a law enforcer were aimed at maintaining a peaceful and harmonious nation by managing crime which is an impediment to development.