'Teen cops' on the Rage beat

30 November 2015 - 02:14 By Leonie Wagner

With 21 Jump Street-styled undercover narcs on point and an army of volunteers called the Red Frogs keeping an eye, the class of 2015 was in good hands. This weekend the KwaZulu-Natal coast welcomed more than 20,000 matriculants to the Rage Festival.The official opening of the 10-day fest saw thousands of "ragers" hitting resorts in Ballito and Umhlanga for South Africa's biggest and longest-running youth festival.There to welcome them were more than 80 local and international DJs.But what they didn't know was that some of their fellow revellers left school a while back.They were police dressed to blend in with the students, just like in Johnny Depp's 21 Jump Street.Police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said that joint operations were under way between the SAPS, metro police, paramedics and Rage organisers to ensure the safety of festivalgoers.Naicker declined to confirm the exact number of police officers involved in the operations, but said that many of the officers were dressed in plain clothes conducting undercover operations.In addition, a non-profit Christian body called the Red Frogs are at the festival to help out with those morning-after blues.The group of university students and volunteers are stationed at the events ready to provide intoxicated teens with water and sweets.The Times joined one of the Red Frog teams for a morning breakfast run.The team of five arrived at an Umhlanga resort equipped with pans, pancake batter and Nutella, ready to feed a group of seven hungover guys.Red Frogs spokesman Pippa Rowney explained that the volunteers had all been screened ."The aim of Red Frogs is to be a positive influence. We don't ever go in with an agenda."We do ask our volunteers for pastoral references because we need to know that their background is checked."The kids will always ask why we do this and if we're Christian. Yes, we are Christian and we're not going to hide that, but we aren't going to Bible bash. It's not on our agenda," she said.One volunteer, Siya Shange, 23, who woke up at 1.30am for the after-party pancake shift, said that the hardest part is getting out of bed.He said there are almost 200 Red Froggers stationed across the coast and often smaller teams walk ragers back to their accommodation.The morning after the opening party, alcohol bottles were the only objects in sight until midday, when students began heading to the beach.Organisers have forked out R15 million for the event however, the festival is expected to rake in R150 million for the economy of Durban...

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