Mchunu: School crime concentrated in four provinces
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Western Cape make up for the majority of crimes that take place in schools.
The Police and the Department of Basic Education launched the School Safety Protocol Program on Tuesday in Cape Town amid growing concerns of the rise in learner-on-leaner violence.
The latest incident involved 19-year-old Lethabo Mokonyane from Pretoria East who was fatally stabbed by a fellow-pupil outside the school premises.
“In the recently released crime statistics, 6 counts of murder were recorded as having taken place on the premises of educational institutions , 80 counts of rape were recorded to have occurred at the premises of educational institutions,” Mchunu said.
Mchunu added different resources will be deployed for the different provinces that are experiencing a spike in school crime.
“We can no longer police in a normal way and we cannot do one thing throughout the republic. We need to have variations and adapt. Some parts of the country demand that we tighten up the level of policing than in others. We are past the time where we take the same approach,” Mchunu said.
The Minister assured the public that the ministry is focused on building and equipping local police stations to be able to respond to calls.
“To fully give effect to this, we recognise the urgent need to ensure that our police stations are well resourced to adequately respond to incidents and that our policing is proactive, responsive, efficient and effective – I do want to assure South Africans that we are building back qualitatively, focusing on our police stations and on policing”
He called on parents to be equally involved in ensuring that their children do not cause violence in schools or carry weapons.
“We cannot do this without parents; they must be active participants in the fight against crime starting in their own homes, in their streets, and in their communities," Mchunu said.
ALSO READ:
