A total of 249 new constables have been deployed to the Mitchell’s Plain SAPS cluster, which includes Lentegeur, Strandfontein and Mitchell’s Plain police stations as well as Philippi, Grassy Park, Lansdowne and Steenberg.
The new recruits, who were deployed on Monday December 19, did foot patrols in various hot spots including Beacon Valley, Tafelsig, Eastridge, Rocklands and the Liberty Promenade shopping centre.
SAPS hosted four passing-out parades for newly trained police officials who had successfully completed the Basic Police Development Learning Programme (BPDLP) at the SAPS Philippi Academy. A total of 4 941 recruits successfully completed the programme and will be deployed at police stations throughout the country where they will be performing operational duties for 12 months. This forms part of practical, in-service training.
Mitchell’s Plain police station spokesperson Captain Ian Williams said SAPS management reviewed the previous training curriculum after conducting impact studies and benchmarking with regional and international standards.
The new, intensified and specialised curriculum for basic training includes continuous practical and workplace exposure. The focus is on various aspects of policing, which will equip the new recruits with the necessary skills to perform professional police duties in a democratic dispensation.
A man’s body was washed out between Mnandi and Swartklip beaches on Saturday December 10 at 7.05pm. It is believed the man drowned. Fishermen had spotted the body and notified police. The body has not been identified yet.
On Sunday December 11 the body of another man, 30, who had drowned at Swartklip Beach, was retrieved by police divers at 4pm.
If you have witnessed these drownings or can help the police in their investigations, call investigating officer Constable Vuyan Claasen of Mitchell’s Plain Crime Investigation Department at 021 370 1754 or 082 587 4369.
Mitchell’s Plain SAPS Domestic Violence office in partnership with local structures held a lunch to thank the victim support volunteers who have been helping survivors of crime and trauma at the station for the past year.
Many of the volunteers have been doing duty for more than ten years at the station. Captain Williams said: “The volunteers are also mothers and some are grandmothers.They give selfless service to the station on a daily basis.The volunteers are trained lay counsellors who offer counselling and referrals to the community,” he said.
