Uniformed authorities can win the hearts and minds of the community from the earliest of ages.
Aiming to instill a sense of responsibility and care within society, police and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) dedicate resources to addressing the root causes of crime. A recent raid on a school in Weltevreden Park on February 8 was one example of how Social Crime Prevention (SCP) units and JMPD’s Community Outreach Unit (COU) work together to build better communities.
At the raid mentioned, learners were lined up outside their classes while police randomly searched school bags. Learners were individually searched as officers looked for cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and weapons. This particular raid yielded no contraband other than an empty plastic bag that a private security sniffer dog identified in the far extremity of the property.
Honeydew police station’s SCP coordinator is Warrant Officer Mamasedi May and she is assisted by the sector managers of the Honeydew policing precinct. The SCP unit assists in improving the social fabric and cohesion within families by promoting community investment in prevention and early intervention in social crimes with long-term benefits.
The JMPD officers in the COU are seasoned professionals who must have completed at least 10 years of service.
“The JMPD COU is responsible for conducting safety awareness campaigns by visiting schools, churches, and businesses to engage and educate the community about road safety, crime prevention, and the city’s bylaws,” explained JMPD spokesperson, Xolani Fihla.
Elaborating on how schools go about arranging raids, Fihla added, “To organise a school raid different stakeholders must be involved, these include police, JMPD, the Gauteng Department of Education, and the school’s governing body.”
As well as youth-related issues, social crime includes domestic violence, gender-based violence, assault, and various forms of human trafficking.
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