Blitz on school finds drugs, weapons
PLETTENBERG BAY - Various Bitou role players have intensified efforts to ensure that schools are safe for local students following a recent school search which saw dangerous weapons, drugs and other contraband items being confiscated.
As part of the Western Cape Education Department's Safe Schools Programme, various crime fighters including Bitou Law Enforcement, local police, the Plettenberg Bay Crime Prevention Association (PBCPA) and private security companies embarked on a search of Plettenberg Bay Secondary School on 11 April.
During the search crime fighters confiscated dangerous weapons, marijuana, e-cigarettes and cellphones. This included more than 60 pairs of scissors, 15 cellphones, earphones, cigarettes, vapes and rolled joints.
PBCPA operations head Otto Olivier said that this was only the first school visit for the year and plans are in place to do similar searches at other schools in Bitou within the next few weeks.
More schools to be searched
"This is a proactive approach to prevent any safety issues in the future," Olivier said. "It also gives us the opportunity to interact with students. Parents send their children to school with the expectation that they would be safe and receive quality education. Through initiatives like this, we are ensuring that their expectations are met."
The PBCPA's sniffer dog was also part of the visit and played a key role in revealing drugs in the classrooms.
The Safe Schools Programme is an initiative aimed at ensuring the safe school environment that is needed for successful
teaching and learning. It has a threepronged strategy including environmental, developmental and systems programmes.
Programme manager Nazeem Sheik-Ismail explained that it is a "whole of society and government" approach to address school safety promotion and violence prevention and that it works in partnership with numerous stakeholders. These stakeholders include, among others, the
SAPS, the Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety, the Department of Social Development and local Law Enforcement.
The recent search also included assisting students in crossing busy intersections and general safekeeping.
Plettenberg Bay Secondary School principal Juan Julies said he appreciated the visit and would discuss the issues raised at the school's next governing body meeting this week.
We want our schools to be safe
Bitou Law Enforcement's Inspector Xolani Bangela that they are trying to stop gangsterism and other illegal activities at
schools in the area. "We know that drugs lead the youth to be violent and we want our schools to be safe," Bangela said.
Bangela also confirmed that there will be future visits to other schools around Bitou.
After the search, Plettenberg Bay police spokesperson Captain Marlene Pieterse said they were approached by Bitou Municipality to assist in the programme.
"We joined our stakeholders on concentrating on the crime that is happening at the school," she said. "We concentrated on drugs, weapons, and cellphones as they are not allowed to bring them to school. We believe that today will be a deterrent to them."