Randburg Grade 8s get a talking to
FONTAINEBLEAU – Linden police's Captain Alex Vermaak spent the morning of 16 January educating new Grade 8 learners at Hoerskool Randburg.
Linden police’s Captain Alex Vermaak spent the morning of 16 January educating new Grade 8 learners at Hoerskool Randburg.
“We have always had a great relationship with our local schools and it is always great to see the potential in these youngsters,” said Vermaak.
Having a standing history with the station, Hoerskool Randburg invited Vermaak to speak to 180 new learners at the school’s induction ceremony.
The scope of his talk focused on bullying, prevention of crime and reporting it, and the issue of drug use.
Vermaak said, “What I was there to do was to educate, show support, and show the new students that we have a strong standing with the school… If there were any incidents, we would know about them.”
He added that the Linden Police Station had an open door policy with all the schools in the area, to encourage a safer school environment in the community.
Vermaak mentioned how the image of the police had become tarnished in recent years, particularly in the eyes of the youth.
“It is our mission as the South African Police Service to change the mindset of the South African public to show that we care and can be an inspiration. It is our goal this year to weed out corruption, educate people and change this mindset.”
This year, the Linden police have decided to reinstate a Youth Desk at the station as part of the Community Policing Forum. A Youth Desk is an initiative to get young people actively involved with the police to prevent crime and take part in awareness campaigns.
“We want to get the youth involved in preventing crime, not as soldiers on the ground, but as people who are auxiliaries.”
Vermaak added that similar programmes have been popular in townships but have yet to find solid ground in the suburbs.
“An initiative like this shows that the youth have been exposed to the realities of life and that they are willing to participate in protecting the community.”
The Linden police are encouraging youth in the area aged 16 to 25 to join in this initiative.
Details: LindenSAPS@saps.gov.za
