PUBLIC SERVICE: Bobby on the school beat
by Larry Claasen,
2014-11-20 07:01:50.0
HAVING METRO POLICE officer Desmond Cupido stationed at Lotus High in Cape Town has been a positive move, says principal Benjamin Pietersen.
Pietersen says Cupido, who has been based at the school for the past two years, has done more than keep the students and staff safe.
Apart from being the first port of call on dealing with criminal matters, he has often acted beyond his mandate, like arranging for the City of Cape Town to provide the school with sporting equipment.
“I believe the project has been of great value to us,” Pietersen says.
Cupido along with several colleagues have been stationed at several Cape schools, which have experienced high rates of crime, as part of the School Resource Officers (SRO) programme. The hope was that by having officers on duty, they would deter gangs and other criminals from disrupting schooling.
The threat of gang violence in Lotus River where the school is based is a real fear. According to The Argus, for instance, violent crime forced the city to close down the nearby Lotus River Clinic earlier this year, despite spending more than R150 000 on repairing infrastructure, and R40 000 a month on security. These are precisely the sort of public service failures the NDP aims to resolve.
Pietersen said having an officer at the school would do more than deter criminals, it would also go some way to encouraging children to complete their schooling, as there were concerns that the threat of violence would lead to them dropping out.
This fear is not unfounded. According to Stats SA only 28,7% of people in Lotus River completed matric.
Though Pietersen backs the SRO programme, he says it has not been perfect. For one thing its cumbersome structure makes it difficult to co-ordinate. The City of Cape Town provided the officers, training was given by National, Association of School Resource Officers from the US, and it was co-ordinated by the provincial government, as part of the Safe Schools Programme.
The schools have no say on the management of the officers because they report to the city. Pietersen says there have been days when Cupido has not pitched up — like the day I interviewed him — only to be told later he was on leave or training.
No one has communicated to Pietersen about the future of the SRO. The pilot was supposed to run for only a year and now it is into its second. He hopes it will continue as the programme fulfills an important role in improving public safety. It also acts as a powerful deterrent to criminal activity at schools.
Even if the programme becomes more entrenched, Pietersen says more resources would have to be provided to ensure that children at the school lived up to their potential. “We are only putting ointment on the wound.”
HAVING METRO POLICE officer Desmond Cupido stationed at Lotus High in Cape Town has been a positive move, says principal Benjamin Pietersen.
Pietersen says Cupido, who has been based at the school for the past two years, has done more than keep the students and staff safe.
Apart from being the first port of call on dealing with criminal matters, he has often acted beyond his mandate, like arranging for the City of Cape Town to provide the school with sporting equipment.
“I believe the project has been of great value to us,” Pietersen says.
Cupido along with several colleagues have been stationed at several Cape schools, which have experienced high rates of crime, as part of the School Resource Officers (SRO) programme. The hope was that by having officers on duty, they would deter gangs and other criminals from disrupting schooling.
The threat of gang violence in Lotus River where the school is based is a real fear. According to The Argus, for instance, violent crime forced the city to close down the nearby Lotus River Clinic earlier this year, despite spending more than R150 000 on repairing infrastructure, and R40 000 a month on security. These are precisely the sort of public service failures the NDP aims to resolve.
Pietersen said having an officer at the school would do more than deter criminals, it would also go some way to encouraging children to complete their schooling, as there were concerns that the threat of violence would lead to them dropping out.
This fear is not unfounded. According to Stats SA only 28,7% of people in Lotus River completed matric.
Though Pietersen backs the SRO programme, he says it has not been perfect. For one thing its cumbersome structure makes it difficult to co-ordinate. The City of Cape Town provided the officers, training was given by National, Association of School Resource Officers from the US, and it was co-ordinated by the provincial government, as part of the Safe Schools Programme.
The schools have no say on the management of the officers because they report to the city. Pietersen says there have been days when Cupido has not pitched up — like the day I interviewed him — only to be told later he was on leave or training.
No one has communicated to Pietersen about the future of the SRO. The pilot was supposed to run for only a year and now it is into its second. He hopes it will continue as the programme fulfills an important role in improving public safety. It also acts as a powerful deterrent to criminal activity at schools.
Even if the programme becomes more entrenched, Pietersen says more resources would have to be provided to ensure that children at the school lived up to their potential. “We are only putting ointment on the wound.”
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