Dept’s Adopt a School campaign to help fight against drugs and liquor
The MEC for Safety and Security, Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana highlighted that strong law enforcement is needed in the fight against drugs and the illegal sale of liquor.
POLOKWANE – She also pointed to the fact that the use of substances contributes directly to crime.
The mushrooming of taverns and shebeens in rural areas has become a challenge for the police as this goes hand in hand with the illegal selling of alcohol and drugs in many cases.
In the last financial year, 16 849 liquor outlets were inspected that resulted in the confiscation of not only illegal cigarettes but also different types and amounts of drugs.
The trade in illegal cigarettes remains a challenge, with illegal cigarettes worth R21,3 million confiscated in the last year.
Drugs that were confiscated included dagga, cocaine, crack, chat, ecstacy, heroine, mandrax, chrystal meth, tik-tik, rocks and nyaope.
Mokaba-Phukwana called on communities to cooperate and partner with the police in the fight against drugs.
The department’s new strategy is to, instead of conducting random searches at schools, to link a specific school to a specific police station.
“This is in line with the department’s Adopt a School campaign. Together with the Education Department this is done to intensify our school safety programmes,” she said.
A total of 3 689 out of 4 069 schools in Limpopo have already been linked to police stations.
“We believe a partnership between the police and our schools will bare positive outcomes and that the police officers will develop relationships with the schools and build good relations between the police and the community,” she said.
