Police promise to keep Success/Laventille Secondary safe

THE police, yesterday, told students, teachers and staff of the Success / Laventille Secondary School their safety will be ensured by having an increased police presence in the area. This after a recent shooting incident which happened nearby.

At a press conference held at the Ministry of Education in Port of Spain on Friday, Snr Supt Floris Hodge-Griffith of the Port of Spain Division said the police will be working with the ministry and are making every effort to ensure that security is taken care of.

“At this moment we have school liaison officers at all schools in Port of Spain, including Success Laventille Secondary. We have our IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) based in Aranguez and most of our focus is in that area of East Port of Spain, Laventille. We have statics throughout the Bus Route and there is a permanent static at the school.”

The police had some success, she said. "We are arresting people and continue to arrest people or perpetrators of crime that may be affecting the school. As recent as this week, as a result of a situation nearby the school we have arrested someone who appeared before the court on Thursday morning.”

Hodge-Griffith said the police will continue their stringent initiatives and strategies to prevent or contain any type of criminal or violent behaviour near the school and the capital city.

She also said the police had been holding meetings in communities where parents of children at that school lived.

"We continue to interact at a PTA level in these areas. All the effort is to discuss security measures, to put in place for the safety of students and teachers.

She said she had noted ministers’ concerns over "having boot camp in a camp-like atmosphere" but said, "There may be instances when we may have to do that.

"We are aware of the needs that have to be met and we will continue in Port of Spain to reach out to the at-risk students via our Hearts and Minds Programme, which is located a stone’s throw away from Success, across the Beetham. We will continue to bridge that gap between students in those schools and our intervention in these areas."

She said there were active youth clubs in the area, "which in the commissioner’s view is an avenue to treat with at-risk students. We encourage such children...all children to attend these across Port of Spain.”

Education Minister Anthony Garcia said recognising that it cannot do the job alone, the ministry had engaged the assistance of all stakeholders, including the ministries of National Security, Culture and Social Services, in an effort to ensure the children benefit.

“However, we have been met with a number of challenges, challenges that we are trying our best to overcome, and I must say, in the area of the school itself, we have been able to overcome most of the challenges.

"A major challenge is violence and discipline in our schools, and because of the things we have been able to put in place, we have found a drastic reduction in the incidence of violence and indiscipline in our schools.”