By Nkosenhle Sibisi
Sydenham SAPS in partnership with the eThekwini District Social Crime and Communication Unit and Community Police Forum members visited Overport Secondary School to conduct a random search on Friday, 26 August. Police searched learners’ bags to ensure that they were not in possession of any illegal substances or weapons.
Imtiaz Syed, District and Mayville Community Police Forum chairperson, who is a former learner of Overport Secondary delivered a talk and encouraged learners to be proactive and take part in fighting crime in schools and within communities.
“It is important to want to guide our young learners to become leaders and not just followers. Problems are there to be solved and the world will always be full of them, but it is you and me that willingly can step up and step out and do whatever we can, with what we have. It must be understood that the youth especially in schools are impressionable and vulnerable and need guidance at all times. We find that in schools, drug addiction, gangsterism and a general state of misconduct is the new normal,” said Syed.
He also encouraged learners to take part in the Community Police Youth Forum aimed at bringing young people in the frontline of fighting crime.
“Many learners showed interest in taking part in the creation of the youth desk. As we have come to democracy we have as society not focused enough on the transition of youth into adulthood. It’s also important to heed the calls of the youth in their plight to emerge from their cocoons and the challenges they face . It is through this understanding we as the eThekwini District CPF call on all schools to engage with us to start up their school safety committees and mobilise their youth CPF. The CPF does not deal with crime as police would, it generally focuses on issues that caused it and try to resolve it through social cohesion programmes. This is a must at every school and it has great potential in building astute upstanding adults of tomorrow,” he said.
Dr Shabir Omar, the principal of Overport Secondary School said that they welcome the visit from the members of the CPF and SAPS. “We invited the police and community police forum members as part of our strategic partnership to assist us with school safety and to increase their visibility. We are grateful to the police for their visit as we want to ensure safety in schools. I am also aware of the community police youth forum that is going to be formed. It will consist of the school learners who are willing to play a part in fighting crime in schools and the community. We are happy to assist the police with setting up a forum and we will do whatever we can to put the safety of the learners first,” said Omar
Captain Carmen Rhynes, SAPS eThekwini District communications officer said that they encouraged learners to work hard and to ensure that their school remains a safe place for learning.
“We understand that there are many challenges that the youth of today have to face and overcome. However, we are here to assist them to rise above these challenges and be part of the solution. I believe that if our youth themselves are crime free, they will actively participate to create a crime free society for their own future,” she said.
