The South African Police Service considers the reduction of crime and violence in South African schools as a crime prevention priority following the National Crime Prevention Strategy objective to complement law enforcement with crime prevention.
The police play two different roles in the school environment, first they respond to crime and violence, secondly their role is that of crime prevention which focuses on preventing victimization of children, prevention of youth offending and assisting schools to create a safe and secure environment for the entire school community
Schools that are not safe are characterized by:
- Fighting
- Bullying and Intimidation
- Violence between learners vs learners and learners vs educators
- Theft
- Corporal Punishment
- Substance Abuse (both drugs and alcohol)
- Gender violence
- Truancy
- School drop outs
- Depression
- Suicide
- Racial and ethnic discrimination
- Vandalism
- Gangster activities
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SAPS programmes commonly used to prevent crimes against children and support school safety include Captain Crime Stop and Adopt-a-Cop programmes.
Secondary and High School Approaches: 13—18 yrs
- Motivational speakers
- Conflict resolution programme
- Group projects on key issues
- Sexual awareness programmes and gender awareness
- Hiv-Aids awareness
- Career awareness
- Capacity building (skills development)
- Setting rules, goals to achieve collectively
- Informal mentoring
- Adopt a cop (suicide/substance abuse/rape)
- Peer counselling and young leadership development
- Rights and responsibilities
- Information about safety issues relevant to a particular school, e.g. gangsterism
- Where and How to get information or assistance
DOCUMENT AVAILABLE FROM (SAPS)—GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL CRIME PREVENTION
Contact
Snr. Supt. P.P. Zokwana
TEL: 012 421 8076
FAX: 082 808 4505
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