Teens caught with cigarettes, marijuana and cough syrup with codeine given a ‘stern tongue-lashing’
Durban — There has been mixed reaction over police and a private security company’s decision to give pupils caught with drugs, cigarettes and cough syrup a “stern tongue-lashing on the dangers of drug abuse and ill behaviour”.
Some Facebook users called for harsher measures while others felt a tongue-lashing was not sufficient.
In a Facebook post, the Mi7 National Group said that just after 4pm on Wednesday, Mi7 reaction officers were patrolling the Newholmes area alongside Mountain Rise police officers when they spotted a group of young men loitering on a grassy area at the roadside.
Mi7 said that upon closer inspection, they were found to be teenagers, some in school uniforms and others in casual clothing. Around them, the area was littered with plastic bottles, paper cups, and empty packets of snacks.
“They started behaving suspiciously as police and reaction officers drove by, scuffling around and shoving items into their backpacks. This drew the police’s attention and they pulled over to investigate,” Mi7 said.
The company said police initiated a search of all the members of the group, with Mi7 reaction officers assisting.
“They found cigarettes, marijuana, and bottles of cough syrup containing codeine,” Mi7 said.
“Choosing reform and discipline over harsh punishment, the team opted to sit the young men down and give them a stern tongue-lashing on the dangers of drug abuse and ill-behaviour. They proceeded to get the group to clean the area of their mess and confiscated all the substances they were carrying before asking them to vacate.”
Reacting on Facebook, this is what people had to say:
Fariah Sayed said: “Harsh measures rather than talking would have been a wake-up call for them.”
Thabani Khambule said: “A few hours in a cell would have been nice.”
Denzil Govender said: “Nobody knows the issues these kids face in their lives to lead them into such situations, sometimes they feel that their friends and getting wasted is the only escape from reality, well other times it’s just naughtiness. A harsher punishment would have been senseless.”
Kevin Watts said well done SAPS and Mi7.
“Sadly I doubt a stern tongue-lashing will have much effect. As a recovering addict myself I know that something like that would have had no effect on me at all. Even going through some very traumatic experiences during my drug use could not stop me. I had to make a decision that my life was so bad that I needed a change. We need a more proactive approach to drug awareness in PMB. A large amount of crime that is committed is directly linked to drug abuse and only by reducing the number of addicts will we reduce crime levels.”
Sarisha Singh said: “SAPS should have detained all of them in the cells and then given them a harsh warning instead of talking and letting them go. They were dealing with drugs after all and the youth was involved.”
Bivi R Ramessar said it has been going on for years on those grounds.
“I complained many times to the principal.”
On Monday, Mi7 gave a shout-out to the pupils and staff at Riverwood College for giving them the floor to conduct an anti-drug and anti-bullying seminar.
“We presented to an assembly of eager senior primary learners who surprised us with their knowledge, level of interaction, and keenness to learn!” Mi7 said.
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