Wynberg Improvement District (WID), together with local businesses, have extended the contract with Dogs and All for a another year, thanks to the success of working with the dogs on patrol.
WID manager Athol Swanson said they used their first sniffer dog on an occasional basis from mid-2017 to assist Wynberg SAPS on operations.
They then decided to continue using the trained patrol and narcotic canines.
The dogs and handlers will work in the Wynberg CBD on a daily basis to address the sale of drugs and the negative effect this has on the community and businesses.
Mr Swanson said the dogs have also been included in many police and law enforcement operations.
“In a recent operation the dog project assisted police and immigration operations in the CBD and abalone was seized from premises,” said Mr Swanson.
Wynberg police spokesperson, Captain Silvino Davids, said the initial phase was successful with many arrests and drugs recovered from individuals, vehicles, premises and hiding spots such as drains.
WID and Wynberg police arranged a patrol dog display on Friday October 12 at Simon Van Der Stel Primary School at Carr’s Hill in Wynberg.
Craig van Tonder of Dogs and All said they train, handle and care for the canines who provide an additional level of visible policing in Wynberg.
Pupils excitedly watched as handlers Johan van Wyk and Wesley Snyders demonstrated how a Belgian Malinois named Red deals with evasive criminals.
Chasing across the sports field, Red pounced on Mr Snyders who was wearing a padded arm band. The dog then stood at Mr Van Wyk’s heel until Mr Snyders attacked him and the dog once again pounced.
The handlers then set out cones in a row and hid a packet under one of them. With wagging tail, cute cross-breed Kuro sniffed out the package from beneath the cone.
Also at the event, WID and Groote Schuur Community Improvement District (GSCID) handed over 95 five-litre bottles of water to the principal Laurika Hefer. She said this would be donated to a township in the area.
Nina Farrell of GSCID said this time last year we were feeling the effects of the drought, with restricted water usage. Day Zero may have gone away, for the present, but many people and companies find themselves with a surplus of bottled drinking water.
Mr Swanson briefed the pupils on the WIDs cleaning operation, asking them to use refuse bins for litter.
He said the WID collects over 3 000 bags of litter from Wynberg streets each month, in addition to that collected by the City. He also reminded the pupils to continue to limit water use and not waste even with the recent rains and dams filling up.
Captain Davids then discussed safety awareness with the pupils, reminding them not to speak to strangers and to report incidents to their parents.
* Captain Roux Petersen said theft out of motor vehicles continues to be a problem in Wynberg.
Another issue is that parents do not warn children to hide their cellphones when walking in the streets, especially when wearing headphones.
Captain Petersen said crime has been down in the area over the past two months. However, he warned people to take care during peak times, especially when alone and in isolated places.
Arrests in drug-related incidents are a daily occurrence and crime operations continue, he said.