Westonaria Police continue demonstrations, safety talks at another school
From explaining the various roles SAPS K9 dogs play to demonstrations of rescuing someone trapped in a car crash, the Westonaria Police and other stakeholders are on a mission to teach school kids about safety.
Westonaria Police continued to give demonstrations and prioritise safety talks at schools in the area after visiting Westonaria Primary School on Monday, March 6.
Also part of the proceedings were members of the Rand West City Traffic Department (RWCTD) as well as the K9 Unit.
• Also read: Safety demonstration held by police at Gerrit Maritz Primary
Westonaria Police spokesperson Sergeant Audrey Sefara said the purpose of the event was to have the different stakeholders demonstrate how their relevant departments work intending to educate the learners about safety.
“Sergeant Banda and I also addressed social ills in schools as well as the dangers of carrying dangerous weapons such as knives and toy guns to school. This is because other learners may mistake them for real weapons and that’s a problem.
We also spoke about substance abuse, bullying, and discipline,” said Sergeant Sefara who added learners were also sensitised to be vigilant and never speak to strangers as they can end up being victims of human trafficking.
Meanwhile, RWCTD officer Lorraine Matila also took the opportunity to address learners on road safety and the use of pedestrian crossings.
She spoke about the colours of traffic lights, what they symbolise where safety is concerned as well as the importance of always having a seat belt on when travelling in a moving vehicle.
The Roodepoort K9 Unit in attendance then explained what the roles of K9 dogs are including searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, finding crime scene evidence, protecting people, and more.
There are 11 types of K9s used by SAPS for example a ‘body fluid dog’ traces fluids such as human blood while ‘The protected species dog’ is used to track endangered species like rhino horns.
West Rand Fire and Rescue officials also demonstrated how they assist trapped occupants involved in accident scenes using the equipment known as the jaws of life.
As it was a hot sunny day and to bring a fun end to proceedings, learners were also splashed with water from the fire horse.
