News
Ryan Hamilton-Davis
GOVERNMENT is making moves to introduce police officers in schools across the nation. However the police officers would not be armed with guns, but non-lethal weapons to ensure the security and safety of the students.
The move was announced by Minister of Education Dr Michael Dowlath at the post-cabinet media conference at the Diplomatic Centre in Port of Spain on September 4.
Dowlath said the initiative was spearheaded by the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Homeland Security.
He said two police officers would be stationed in 50 secondary schools which were identified as priority institutions. Ten other secondary schools and ten primary schools will also have dedicated police patrols to ensure consistent coverage and rapid response to incidents in and around the school.
“The reason behind this is that there have been incidents of indiscipline and violence in our schools. Recent years have seen increased reports of school violence, gang influence and threats from external elements. These trends threaten student safety and disrupt teaching and learning,” Dowlath said.
He said the programme would also use the community-policing approach, where officers would not only serve as security but also engage students, parents and teachers in building trust, discipline and mutual respect.
“In order to ensure students’ safety in a changing environment, both in and outside of the school environment, it must be protected against the full range of risks in our society today.
“To meet this responsibility officers will be deployed in ‘full operational kits’ as visible deterrents, and to respond immediately should threats arise,” Dowlath said.
When asked whether the full operational kits would include firearms, Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander said they would not be armed with guns.
“Those officers will be given non-lethal equipment that they can respond in an appropriate manner.
“For a police officer, the firearm is a tool of trade – like the cutlass is a tool of trade for the coconut vendor – but there are certain times that you would need to operate in a particular way to get the best result.
“As you would say, you are treating with children. Some of them may behave very strangely but at the end of the day, they are considered children under the law. Therefore they must be treated as children according to what the law says. We don’t want to violate that.”
However he noted that there might be times that it might become necessary to “have the appropriate equipment there to treat the situation.”
In that circumstance, Alexander assured that the officers were trained to adapt to the situations that might arise.
“There are times where the officers would have to adapt to a situation that might need a level of stern confrontation. (In that situation) that will be addressed. We have a system that could adapt to any situation that confronts law enforcement.”
Asked about body cams and whether the officers would be wearing them, Alexander said the police officers would be given the appropriate equipment to protect the students without distracting them.
“I am not saying that we are not giving them body cams, but take a look at this: you have a body cam and it could attract a child because he tells himself that it is one of his camera phones.
“He would want to call the officer and ask him, ‘Sir take a selfie of me.’ We are trying to avoid that. If it is done, it will be done in such a way so as not to distract the students.”
Dowlath told reporters he could not say which schools were selected for the programme but noted that the presence of the police officers would be both a deterrent to disruptive behaviour and criminal activity, as well as an immediate response to threats.
“This would ensure that schools that were considered high-risk will move toward becoming safe zones,” he said.
In June, a Holy Faith Convent student was beaten by five other schoolgirls outside her school. The gang of schoolgirls were eventually charged for the incident.
In that same month a South East Port of Spain Secondary School student was attacked by classmates in one of the school’s bathrooms.