Grassy Park police have started an initiative called adopt-a-cop at the station
in a bid to strengthen relationships with schools in the precinct.
The initiative was started by new station commander, Colonel Dawood Laing, after he identified the need to build a strong working relationship between police and schools.
“We want to promote cooperation and ensuring joint problem identification and problem solving. At most of our 24 schools in the Grassy Park precinct , schools are mostly fed by pupils from Lotus River, Ottery and Parkwood where gangsterism, drugs and violence are prevalent. Pupils are on a daily basis confronted and have to deal with these issues as well as poverty and unemployment. At Grassy Park police we believe in building strong partnerships with pupils and educators, thus contributing to the fight against crime,” he said.
All 24 schools in the precinct have a dedicated officer and they will do regular visits and address identified problems and work on a solution.
Colonel Laing himself adopted Fairmount High School and in the past few weeks he and other officers went around to the schools to spread awareness and speak to the children about making the right choices and staying away from drugs.
Schools that have been visited so far include Fairmount High, Lotus High, Kannemeyer Primary and Stephen Road Primary.
