BEREA police arranged for a helpful and motivating crime awareness talk for the junior high school pupils at Sastri College on Monday.
The teenage pupils were enlightened by W/O Danric Verster, who has years of experience working for the Durban Flying Squad.
Verster started the talk by making the pupils aware that prank callers are a 'huge' problem that the 10111 emergency services has to contend with. He explained that prank calling was against the law.
“A person can get a R2 000 fine or a two-year jail sentence if they are caught, and also the owner of the phone,” Verster said to the wide-eyed pupils. “If the phone belongs to your parents they will be the ones in trouble. But main problem with prank calling is that the calls waste police time when there are real emergencies,” he said.
In light of recent crimes against children, Verster said it was very important for children to be observant of their surroundings, their clothes, their friends and especially strangers and suspicious people. “If someone is following you and there is nobody else close to you, turn to them, shout 'Get away!' and draw attention to yourself. If someone makes you uncomfortable or tries to rob you while you are near a mall, run into the mall and tell the first guard you see,” he advised.
Verster addressed social media becoming dangerous to unsuspecting youngsters. “If your parents bought your cell phone or the airtime for the phone, they are allowed access to your photos and messages by law,” he continued, “I'm not trying to scare you, but to to advise you not to give your details to strangers you meet on social media. Unfortunately there are people that prey on children.”
Verster told the pupils about a case last year where a 12-year-old girl had invited her online 'boyfriend' of six months, whom she had never met, to her home while her parents were away. “Luckily her brother was home and alerted the police, because her 'teenage boyfriend' was a 68-year-old man. Be careful what you put on Facebook and social media,” Verster said.
Principal Rajan Maharaj, said, “Sastri College adopted two themes for 2015 – academic excellence and learner discipline – which all our stakeholders have embraced. In the creation of an environment conducive to learning, crime awareness as an educational experience forwards a positive change to lifestyle management.”
