Cape Town - Southen Suburbs school learners have been urged by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) to be cautious when walking to and from school.
This after the Safe Schools Call Centre reported that learners from Sans Souci Girls’ High School and Claremont High School have fallen victim to a spate of cellphone robberies.
In the most recent incident reported, Sans Souci revealed via a letter that one of its learners had been robbed just before 8am outside the school’s gate on May 15. “Despite all our efforts and having two men on duty in the drop-off zone, an incident occurred where a pupil was robbed outside the gate at 7h46,” the letter read.
According to the school, the area of Newlands has recently become a crime hotspot, with the school targeted twice in the past two weeks.
“Additionally, four other schools in the area have experienced similar incidents.
“The police have been notified and will be conducting increased patrols in the area,” the letter read.
Sans Souci recently reorganised its security measures, including installing additional security cameras.
WCED spokesperson Millicent Merton said the incidents occurred off school premises.
“The WCED Safe Schools Call Centre is aware of one incident involving a learner at Claremont High, and an incident involving a learner at Sans Souci High.
“Since the incidents occurred off premises, the WCED rely heavily on its partners like SAPS and City of Cape Town Law Enforcement to assist with visible policing and regular patrols in and around these schools,” she said.
Police spokesperson, FC van Wyk, said no cases have been opened, but the Claremont station commander has been informed of the alleged incidents.
He said officers at Claremont SAPS will do visible policing patrols in the morning around schools to prevent crime. “They will also have meetings with other stakeholders like our neighbourhood watches to assist with patrols and to be their eyes and ears,” Van Wyk said.
A member of the Claremont Community Policing Forum (CPF) was contacted by the Cape Argus for comment yesterday, and said the CPF “is not functioning at this time”.
Merton added that learners should be reminded to walk to and from school with caution. “All devices should be kept out of sight. This is an appeal not just to learners in this particular area, but all learners across the Metro,” she said.
Cape Argus