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The Ministry of Police has noted various public calls around the issue of arresting children who are found loitering outside school yards, during school hours. In dealing with this issue the ministry will circumspect and take in to account all the applicable legislations relating to children’s rights and safety.

A point in case is the recent widely-reported incident, where three learners in East Rand, Gauteng were photographed by one of the newspapers, publicly drinking alcohol in full school uniform. They have since apologised to the nation. The Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa revealed in a Parliamentary reply today that as part of its commitment of protecting all citizens, including school children, the ministry shall strive to strengthen relationships with school-governing bodies, authorities and communities.

“The Child Justice Act, 2008 (Act No 75 of 2008) created a separate criminal justice system for children in conflict with the law. The mentioned Act stipulates that if a child is younger than 10 years, he or she may not be arrested, and a child who is 10 years or older should only be arrested as a last resort and, if arrested, should only be detained for the shortest possible time,” stated Minister Mthethwa.

“Loitering is not a Schedule 1 offence and is regarded as a B crime. Loitering is dealt with in accordance with the respective municipal by-laws. The South African Police Service (SAPS) can also act in terms of the Children’s Act and ensure that the child is referred to the social workers or probation officers of the Department of Social Development who must then investigate as to why the child is not in school.”

Minister Mthethwa stressed that the provisions should not be interpreted or viewed as giving a free-for-all licence for unscrupulous adults to manipulate children into committing crime. “The Child Justice Act and the Children’s Act (Act No 38 of 2005) regulate the manner in which children should be treated. For this reason, the SAPS has National Instructions in place that explicitly and in detail give direction to police members on how to treat and deal with children in accordance with the provisions of the mentioned legislation.”

The Ministry of Police is currently engaging the Ministry of Basic Education to cement a partnership that will drive the objectives, activities and priorities of both ministries to reduce crime and violence in schools and in communities. The focus would be on the development and support for the implementation of school-based crime prevention programmes.