Sniffer dogs, trained to detect explosives, and narcotics dogs were led into classrooms and pupils’ bags sniffed before the Groenvlei Secondary School pupils were physically searched by police.
This happened in two classrooms at a Lansdowne school on Wednesday, but no drugs, alcohol or weapons were found.
Some 83 pupils in grades 9 and 10 were searched.
Before police officers searched a Grade 9 class, they gave pupils the opportunity to declare whether they were in possession of anything illegal.
One pupil stepped forward and handed over a cellphone.
It was against school policy for pupils to have a cellphone on school premises.
The cellphone was found to have pornographic video clips and was confiscated by the school’s governing body.
Groenvlei Secondary is one of 109 high crime risk schools across the province.
The search-and-seizure operation followed two separate incidents last week, when five minors were arrested for possession of illegal firearms at two schools.
The arrests were made following calls from principals at Belhar and Athlone schools after they heard about firearms on school premises. During previous searches by police at schools across the province, cellphones with pornographic video clips, drugs and weapons have all been confiscated from pupils.
Groenvlei Secondary was chosen on Wednesdaybecause of its proximity to Hanover Park, where a number of gang-related shootings were reported last year.
The Western Cape Education Department put measures in place to reduce the risk of weapons entering schools, including the use of hand-held metal detectors at the 109 high-risk schools as well as search and seizure operations by police officers.
“We have found that these measures have been yielding some positive results at some schools. Metal detectors are an example, if properly managed by our schools,” said Education MEC Donald Grant.
He said the detectors had prevented many objects that could be used as weapons from entering schools, such as screwdrivers, knives and scissors. “If they had not been picked up by the detectors, these objects could have been used to cause bodily harm,” said Grant.
“Also, our schools have been able to identify pupils who are guilty of possession. Where searches are frequent, some schools have reported that the number of weapons found has dropped.”
Grant said the police search-and-seizures had yielded similar results, with various weapons found during the raids, as well as acting as a deterrent.
The provincial Education Department will be increasing the number of searches this year. These will include searches with metal detectors by school management teams or by the police.
If warranted, schools can request the delivery of metal detectors from the department’s Safe School Directorate. Training on how to use the detectors will be made available.
Taswell Paulse, of the police’s provincial Visible Policing Unit, said some visits to schools were unannounced and occurred after police received information about illegal items. Other visits were announced and organised with the school’s principal who would recommend which classrooms to search. - Cape Times