Learner Cop Concept

How Did The Project Get Started

• A meeting was called with all the stakeholders that will be involved in the project to sell the idea.
• It was decided that the idea be cascaded down to the circuit managers and the principals. The learners that were targeted are the grade 6 from primary school and grade 10 from secondary schools.
• Principals were briefed in their broader management meeting to involve all the schools in the circuit.
• A criterion to be utilized whilst scoring learners was developed by the committee.
• Only Grade 10 at High school and Grade 6 at Primary school were involved.

Aims And Objectives

• To assist SAPS in policing the areas.
• To involve the youth in the struggle to fight crime mostly in their schools and in areas where they live in.
• To develop a link between schools and SAPS.
• To develop/create awareness to learners about services rendered by the Police and change negative perceptions about Policing in communities.
• Bring the might of collectivism to defeat crime.
• To encourage learners to stay out of criminality.
• To change the learners and the community’s mindset about policing
.
• To create a sense of responsibility on learners and also to see themselves as police officials of their community.
• To encourage learners to take policing as a career.

Challenges

• At the moment Learners are affected by crime either as victims of crime or the perpetrators of crime.
• There is a negative perception that people are joining the SAPS due to job scarcity.

How Will The Project Address Challenges

• Develop the love / passion for policing,
• Increase involvement of learners in police activities ( Crime Prevention).
• Cultivate the culture of assisting one another.
• This is the opportune time to change learners mindset about policing and crime in general.

How Will The Project Be Monitored

• Visiting schools on the monthly basis by the CPO and the Station Commissioner.
• Feedback by learner station Commissioner on weekly basis at the SCCF meeting.
• Monthly feedback at the CPF meeting by the Learner Station Commissioner.
• Feedback by Learner Cops on monthly meeting.
• Monitoring of the Crime Information Boxes.

• SAPS
• CPF
• Civilian Secretariat
• Department of Education

Processes Followed With High School ( Grade 10)

• Learners were requested to write an essay on the following topic.


“If he/she was a station Commissioner what would she/he do to prevent crime”.

• The essay must be in two pages and taking into consideration the National Crime Prevention Strategy.
• The start date is the 29th of January 2007 and date of submission of essay to educators is the 5th of February 2007.
• Marking of the essays started from the 05th of February 2007 to the 12th of February 2007.
  • Points to look into when marking the essay
  • Establishment of structures (CPF, Sector Policing and Business Against Crime etc.)
  • Strategies ( School Safety (adopt a cop), Recruitment of Reservist and recruitment of informers)
  • Operations ( VCP, Patrols, Roadblocks, Tracing of wanted suspects, raiding of shebeens and Stop & Search).
  • Implementation of programmes (Awareness Campaign for example Sport against crime and 16 Days of Activism, Adopt A Cop etc).
• The Best and the Second Best learners to make a presentation of their essay at their School from the 12th of February 2007 to the 19th of February 2007.
• On the 23rd of February 2007 is the Final presentation of Best learners only to the Project Committee.

• Learners to write an essay on
• ”If he/she was a Cop at the Police Station what would she/he do to prevent crime.”
• The start date is the 29th of January 2007 and date of submission of essay to educators is the 5th of February 2007
.
• Marking of the essay is from the 5th of February 2007 to the 12th of February 2007.
• On the 23rd of February is the Final presentation of Best learners to the Project Committee.

Report Project Learners In Blue ( Nawe Uliphoyisa)

• Each school was requested to submit two essays from the learner and second best learner after making.
• Thirty five (35) learners were selected as Best Learners from all the school in our policing area and the committee had to sit down and select the learners station Commissioner.

The learner station commissioner is Samson Zitha from Tinhlonhla High school who is to lead the thirty five (35) learners from different schools.

• An application for authority from the Provincial Commissioner was made for the Learner cops to wear Police Uniform on the day of Appointment
.
• To make the event formal the Field Training Officer was brought in to teach the learners cops the basic drill.

Learner Cops Expectations

• They wanted to know their responsibilities
.

• What to do when a crime is committed in their presence
.

• To be introduced to all schools and their responsibility be highlighted.


• They requested to wear Police uniform every Wednesday.

Departmental Expectations From Learner Cops

• To utilize them on creating awareness on fighting crime campaigns.


• Engage them on safety schools program, adopt a cop and CPF youth forums.


• Engage the learner Station Commissioner in CPF meetings and SCCF meetings.


• To utilize them in creating crime awareness in the morning assemble at least once a week
.

• To utilize them in reporting crime that is taking place at their schools and also in their communities.

Conclusion

This is one of the best models in fighting crime that will have results and bear the long term fruits. This can result to the society that knows exactly that you cannot defeats the ends of justice and the society that knows that crime does not pay.

This is one of the Projects that defines exactly what working together with the masses to combat crime.