Roodepoort Police and CPF tour schools to promote respect and responsibility
Social Crime Prevention Unit held talks at over 30 schools in a two-week period.
Believing in the value of winning hearts early, Roodepoort Police’s Social Crime Prevention Unit took a whirlwind tour of educational facilities across their precinct.
Supported by the Roodepoort Community Policing Forum (CPF) and their Youth Desk, Captain Juanita Yorke and Sergeant Shumikazi Mbuli visited over 30 schools and colleges for a series of educational induction talks.
The information sessions focused on promoting responsible behaviour, respect for their fellow learners, and respect for the men and women in uniform. The officers also established boundaries around bullying, both in-person and online, while issuing warnings around the dangers of human trafficking. Captain Yorke and Sergeant Mbuli urged the children always to be ware of their surroundings, never to talk to strangers and always to say no to drugs.
A key outcome of the talks was the establishment of school safety desks within each school. The Roodepoort CPF Youth Desk hopes to promote youth involvement by having safety coordinators representing each school. Head of the Youth Desk, Nicolson Lekgau, encourages each school to establish a school safety plan where a leadership group within the school acts as the eyes and ears of authorities beyond the school grounds.
In addition to cramming 30 school talks into a two-week period, reaching 4 960 children according to accumulated figures kept by Captain Yorke, the unit participated in several crime-awareness campaigns. Using informational paraphernalia, police aimed to educate the community on gender-based violence, femicide, substances abuse, depression and other socially relevant issues.
