The bases of two SA Army units in Kimberley are currently home to Gauteng crime wardens in training where, in addition to discipline, drill and other military norms, they were given an insight into sexual harassment and misconduct.
Colonel Dipuo Raadt, Senior Staff Officer (SSO), SA Army Transformation Management, told the young men and women recruited to curb crime in South Africa’s economic hub on completion of their training that sexual harassment and misconduct was “a worrisome feature” of South African society.
Second Lieutenant Daniel Maluleke reported the presentation as being “a cherry on top” for the crime wardens in training at 3 SA Infantry (SAI) Battalion and 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment.
Part of Raadt’s presentation dealt with unwelcome conduct with her pointing out it was considered as such when neither invited nor solicited, let alone behaviour deemed offensive and/or undesirable.
During their eight-week stay at the military bases, the learner crime prevention wardens will gain insight and learn about crowd control, radio procedures, first aid, search and rescue as well as the all-important discipline imparted through drill and physical training. It was reported their training will equip them for “specific roles such as handling land invasions, combating illegal mining, managing illegal liquor establishments and ensuring school safety”.
One who raised an eyebrow about training at military units is Gareth Newham, who heads up the justice and violence prevention section at the Pretoria-based Institute of Security Studies.
He is reported by Daily Maverick as saying the recruits would not receive “a substantial amount of training relating to crime prevention duties because the SANDF (SA National Defence Force) is not equipped to do crime prevention”.
“The best I can imagine is that the crime wardens will learn how to march. They’ll be physically fit and they’ll be able to follow instructions.”
