In May, members of the Gansbaai police, Overstrand Law Enforcement K9 Unit and Gansbaai Community Policing Forum (CPF), in partnership with the Department of Education, embarked on a school safety and crime prevention intervention.
All four schools – Laerskool Gansbaai, Gansbaai Academia, Masakhane Primary and Gansbaai Primary – were visited.
Random searches for drugs and dangerous weapons were done to ensure the safety of all learners and educators.
Gansbaai police commander Lieutenant Colonel Winston Coetzee said this intervention was necessary and executed in the light of recent incidents of bullying and dangerous weapons that learners are carrying to and from school.
Sergeant Basson, Gansbaai police school safety coordinator, and Julia Barlow, the CPF chairperson, addressed the learners on substance abuse (drugs), bullying and gangsterism.
The Overstrand K9 unit entertained the learners with their skill sets and the trained dogs.
Nearby shops and bus shelters where the learners normally gather to buy and smoke cigarettes were also visited as a deterrent for these ill-habits.
“The South African Police Service and the Department of Education share a commitment to ensure the overall safety and well-being of learners and educators to reduce the incidents of crime in society, develop a better relationship between the police and youth in communities, create in young people an understanding of the police’s roles in society, extend the concept of crime prevention and equip young people with the necessary skills to avoid dangerous and threatening situations,” Coetzee explained.
