Zululand Observer - Weekender

Mock exercise assesses emergency capacity

- Larry Bentley

AN exercise to assess the Melmoth community’s readiness concerning the national rural safety strategy was held around the town on Friday afternoon.

The participan­ts included the Melmoth SAPS and related branches, the Forensic Team from Ulundi, KZN Emergency Rescue Service, Mthonjanen­i Municipali­ty Protection Services, Mfezi Security and the Melmoth Farmers’ Associatio­n including their Farm Watch.

This combined to make the exercise a great success.

After receiving a report of ‘an incident on a rural property’, Mfezi Security with their canine and handler and a Melmoth police member soon tracked down two ‘suspects’ who had fled on foot.

A further three ‘suspects’ who fled in a vehicle were also apprehende­d by Melmoth SAPS members as farmers closed the access routes.

After the exercise, Melmoth Station Commander, Col Robert Souls addressed the participan­ts and asked them to complete a questionna­ire so that a full assessment of the exercise could be made.

This will be used to identify emergency short-comings and strengths.

It was agreed that the exercise was a worthwhile one and should be followed up using urban and other crime scenarios to improve co-operation between the various emergency agencies.

 ??  ?? The crime scene is cordoned off
The crime scene is cordoned off
 ?? Larry Bentley ?? A ‘victim’ is removed from his vehicle
Larry Bentley A ‘victim’ is removed from his vehicle
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