This “Day” was held to enhance the objectives of visible policing in addressing crime in South Africa and to sensitise the public with regard to their contribution towards the reduction of crime, crime awareness, initiatives such as the reporting of stolen goods, use of alcohol and drug abuse, and illegal firearms. It was also to present various career paths within the SAP to encourage learners and students as well as potential applicants who would consider the Sap as a career and to strengthen community relationships in order to enhance confidence in and improve the image of the SAP.
Approximately 4000 school children attended the Open Day and they were entertained by local music artists and various police displays. The highlights were the enactment of acash in transit heist scene and how this would be handled by the SAP as well as the SAP dog unit showcasing the training and discipline of this valuable unit at crime investigation scenes.
After all of that spectacle, the students were invited to go into a large marquee where the different sectors of the Police were displayed. These stands included forensics, alcohol and drug abuse, veterinary services, amongst other various departments.
Gun Free South Africa partnered with the SAP on the Firearms Control stand. We displayed our promotional material, bookmarks, membership cards, badges and a dvd showing the dangers of gun possession. We invited everyone who visited our stand and who had lost family members, or friends, siblings and colleagues through gun violence to light a candle in remembrance of them. We had 145 candles lit and a number of stories written in remembrance of gun victims. The stories told by these young people and police members who visited our stand were harrowing and reflected just how many people are affected by guns in our society.
Gun Free South Africa fully supports the South African Police Service in their effort to combat crime and we also encourage students to consider policing as a career of choice.