Police clampdown after stabbings at school

Gallery Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - On Thursday morning, 13 June, the KwaNonqaba police clamped down on violence and criminality at Indwe Secondary School in Mossel Bay.

Learners were frisked as they arrived at school and a number of dangerous weapons, including large knives and several pairs of scissors, were confiscated.

This followed two stabbing incidents at the school. Both incidents, one on Monday, 10 June and another on Wednesday, 12 June were ascribed to gang activity in the community.

Spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department, Jessica Shelver, also said indications were that the ongoing fights at the school were a result of gang factions and issues in the community.

Police members used the opportunity to educate the learners as they engaged with them about the perils of crime and criminality.

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The initiative was supported by officers from the Da Gamaskop Police Station and the KwaNonqaba Community Policing Forum and preceded a community meeting at the school early on Thursday evening.

Parents, learners and members of the community welcomed the intervention and said preventative measures such as the thorough frisking of both male and female learners should be done regularly.

"Gang violence should be acknowledged for what it is and the authorities should not shy away from dealing with it as such," a concerned parent said.

In April two learners, in grades 8 and 9, were attacked and stabbed by community members outside the school premises.

In this case the principal reportedly also believed the learners were affiliated to gangs.

This year, the school has reported two assaults, two stabbings and an incident of burglary and vandalism.

The Western Cape Education Department's (WCED) Safe Schools field worker has reported that he has asked for additional support from the police and requested that they increase police visibility in the area.

Police members used the opportunity to interact and speak to learners about the perils of crime and violence.