BETHAL – During the Take a Child to Work Day campaign, learners from the Bethal Independent School learnt about SAPS members’ duties and responsibilities.
The campaign was held at Bethal Police Station on May 31, with the SAPS, Men for Change, the Women’s Network in partnership with Secunda K9, Thomas-Heights Ambassadors and the Businesses against Crime Forum.
The Take a Child to Work campaign aimed to incorporate the International Day of the Boy Child, where 50 boys from the school were hosted to focus and raise awareness on the importance of health and wellbeing.
The campaign was also to motivate and empower young boys to reach their career goals, inspire the next generation of leaders in SA, and celebrate Boy Child’s International Day.
Sergeants Anastacia Mayisela and Arnold Rajoo and K9 Vulcan spoke to the learners about dog handling as a career in the SAPS.
Mayisela explained to them the crucial role police dogs play in preventing, combating and investigating crime. She said to become a dog handler, one needs to have a passion and love for dogs.
Mayisela informed the learners that she specialises as a narcotic dog handler. The narcotic dog is trained to search for different drugs.
She also spoke about the various drugs and the dangers of using them.
Learners watched a demonstration on how police dogs are trained and used to search for narcotics or drugs at home or elsewhere.
Learners were amused by how Vulcan searched and found drugs hidden under a cone.
Sergeant Thomas Mogadime, the communication and social crime prevention official for the Bethal SAPS, spoke to the learners about his work.
He must:
• initiate community-orientated projects and compile a strategy and business plan for envisaged events;
• implement events;
• compile and deliver a persuasive public presentation;
• implement the communication policy at the station level;
• create and maintain an effective communication administration system;
• gather information on serious crime scenes and communicate relevant information to the media;
• manage press and media inquiries;
• negotiate publication of articles on the station’s accomplishments;
• maintain a record of media reports;
• initiate and implement community events;
• plan and do exhibitions for the community.
Warrant Officer Jan Jansen van Nieuwenhuizen and Constable Darius Mouton, both sector commanders and rural safety co-ordinators, said their duties are to interact, consult and implement appropriate measures to address rural safety and crime in rural areas and that the objectives of the Rural Safety Strategy are to:
• enhance policing and accessibility to the rural community;
• improve safety and security in the entire rural environment;
• adopt an integrated approach to address rural safety;
• improve/enhance relationships between the police, the farming community, all stakeholders and extended rural communities;
• foster and establish partnerships in the rural community about safety and security concerns and issues.
Mogadime further outlined the role sector policing plays in the community. It aims to:
• prevent crime;
• encourage visible and accessible policing by known local police officials;
• improve reaction time to complaints; and
• promote a relationship between the police and communities.
Mogadime thanked the educators for accompanying the learners to the police station and thanked the learners for their positive participation during the campaign.
