Police members from 13 stations in the West Rand District were joined recently by representatives of the Departments of Social Development and Community Safety, gender-based violence brigades and the provincial victim empowerment centre for a crime-awareness campaign.

The teams went to three school in the Hekpoort and Magaliesburg areas.

“The purpose of the visit on Wednesday January 26 was to restore discipline at schools and to ensure safety in the learning environments,” said Sergeant Gloria Maswanganye from the District Police’s communications team.

They started at the Magaliesburg Secondary School where they addressed the Grade 9 and 10 learners. Then they went to the Magaliesburg Group of Schools around Hekpoort, and lastly they visited the Dayspring Intermediate School.

The focus topics were bullying, discipline, theft, human trafficking, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, missing persons and child abuse,” Maswanganye said, adding that learners were also encouraged to respect their teachers and take their studies seriously.

Social worker Thoma Nhlapo from the Department of Social Development further encouraged learners to take good care of themselves, and report any form of abuse. She said their offices are always there to assist any victim. They were also warned not to find themselves in conflict with the law.

The team from the Victim Empowerment Centre informed learners about the services they provide at their office, and Onica Mogomotsi from Community Safety encouraged learners to study very hard to become better people. They were told about bursaries and scholarships for them to further their studies, and management from all three schools expressed their appreciation to the team.