HENRY

Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry is seeking to clarify media reports of widespread violence and general misconduct, especially among high school students, in the new Half-Way Tree Transport Centre. The minister's outline comes after receiving a detailed report from the general manager of the centre.

From the incident log for the period January 7 to 31, Henry noted that there were 11 reported incidents out of the norm in the transport centre over the 25-day period.

The most significant incident, the minister indicated, was a knife fight between two students on January 28, which resulted in injuries to both boys. Similarly, a male high school student was wounded with a knife during an alleged robbery attempt by another student on January 30.

Attacker detained

In the first case, both boys were treated at hospital and slapped with charges by the police, while in the latter case, the victim was taken to the hospital and the alleged attacker was detained, a statement from the transport ministry said.

Outside of the above incidents, there were two reports of cell phones being stolen - one involving a student - while a bag belonging to an elderly passenger was reported missing in one instance.

The other incidents included the breaking of a shop glass by a mentally ill man who threw a bottle from Eastwood Park Road; the alleged slapping of a female student by a man on a bus; the playing out of a school dispute centred on a female student; and two incidents in which high school students were pointed out and held for defacement of property. In one case of defacement, the student involved was warned by the police and allowed to go free after cleaning up the affected area, while in the other case, the 17-year-old offender was escorted to the Half-Way Tree Police Station.

Minister Henry said the immediate strategy, in terms of containing the isolated incidents of poor student behaviour, was to have the offenders identified and the relevant school principals notified, as was done in relation to the school dispute that was played out in the transport centre. In that case, a senior teacher was sent from the school to speak to the students who were involved and to escort the affected student home.

"While the incident log clearly indicates that the problems with violence and misbehaviour in the centre are at a manageable level for such an extensive facility serving so many thousands of people daily, we are still focused on getting the school administrators to play a more meaningful role in influencing better behaviour among the students using the centre," said Mr. Henry. He insisted that respect for the institutions which they attended should hold a strong level of influence on the behaviour of students in uniforms, hence his call upon the school administrators.