Due to the discovery of prohibited items during police raids in schools, the KwaZulu-Natal Parents Association has demanded stricter penalties, including imprisonment for students who brought illegal items to school.
Chairman Vee Gani put forward this demand after police, in collaboration with a private security company, discovered prohibited items at a school in Pinetown. Similar checks are being conducted across the country in various educational institutions.
Discovery of prohibited substances in Durban schools
The Excellerate Security K9 unit reported that a joint operation to ensure school safety, conducted by the Pinetown Social Crime Police in collaboration with law enforcement agencies and community representatives, led to the seizure of prohibited substances and items as part of a drug awareness campaign at a local school.
According to Excellerate, this initiative is part of an ongoing program aimed at educating students about the dangers of drug abuse, crime, and possessing dangerous weapons, as well as creating a safer educational environment.
Pinetown Police stated that several classrooms were searched. Among the confiscated items were packets of dagga, cigarettes, vapes, white powder, presumed cocaine, and a replica firearm.
Operations in Gauteng
On August 4, the Orange Farms Police Station conducted an operation aimed at combating the possession of dangerous weapons, the use of psychoactive substances, banditry, and other illegal activities in schools.
During this operation, two suspects were arrested after being detained with crystal methamphetamine. The commander of the Orange Farms station, Brigadier Mashole Manamela, reported that the police also seized dagga, sharp tools, scissors, cigarettes, dining forks, and matches.
Manamela urged community members to report suspicious or criminal activity occurring in or around schools to the police, emphasizing that community cooperation is crucial for creating a safe learning environment. The police strongly recommended that the public actively oppose drug use, school violence, vandalism, and illegal initiation schools.
Alcohol was found during a police raid at a school in Tshwane.
School inspection in Tshwane
The Tshwane District Director, Major General Samuel Thine, stated that Ekangala SAPS, together with the Community Policing Forum (CPF), Ekangala patrols, and the Department of Public Safety, visited the Specialization School on August 8.
The goal of the raid was to ensure the safety and security of students and staff in the Tshwane district schools. He noted: 'The main objective of the operation was to search the school premises for dangerous weapons, illegal drugs, and other prohibited items that could endanger the safety of students and teachers.'
During the search, the police seized dangerous weapons, cigarettes, and bottles of alcohol, including small bottles of vodka. The police proceeded to a residential house suspected of being linked to alcohol sales. Upon arrival, officers met an elderly woman who identified herself as the mother of a person allegedly involved in alcohol sales. She stated that she did not know about her son's involvement in selling alcohol and added that he was not at the house at the time,' Thine reported.
SAPS will continue to conduct intelligence operations in schools and communities to remove dangerous and prohibited items from environments where they may pose a threat to youth. Thine appealed to parents, guardians, educators, students, and community members to cooperate closely with SAPS and other relevant stakeholders to ensure a safe learning environment.
Demand for harsher punishment
Gani explained that the discovered items are expected because most schools lack budgets, funding, or resources to provide high-level security. He mentioned that each school's code of conduct is provided to parents and students, outlining rules of behavior and general norms of what is permissible and impermissible. According to him, schools across the country face the problem of prohibited items.
He emphasized: 'Contraband can easily infiltrate because there is no security. The discovered items are absolutely illegal. When they bring prohibited things into school, it endangers many other children. If you bring firearms or drugs into school, every child is in danger. We have heard stories of how drug dealers try to push drug sales through schoolchildren.'
Gani also noted that teachers will only check children's bags if there is suspicion. He stated that schools do not have the resources to solve this problem, and the police are not adequately staffed to conduct regular raids in all schools within their jurisdiction. He called on the Department of Education and SAPS to adopt a zero-tolerance policy.
'When the police come, criminal cases must be opened. We have become too lenient with children who break the law. Where there is bullying and assault, we must have a zero-tolerance policy,' said Gani. He called for the suspension of children caught with drugs, dealing them, or using them.
'We must apply the law consistently and decisively; then we will get the desired results. Make the punishment so severe that students think twice before breaking school rules. It is necessary to convey the consequences to the children. We must fight crime the way it should be done. It's not that children don't know what they can take and what they cannot. They put everyone at risk,' concluded Gani.
