Police chief laments putting cops in schools

Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson has lamented the need to put police officers in schools to prevent criminal gangs from recruiting students. 

He made the comments on Thursday while giving an update on the work of school resource officers, who are members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. 

He said there are 211 resource officers in about 154 schools across the island.

“We will see how that programme goes, (but) you shouldn't really have to have police officers, policing students in school,” Anderson said.  

“There is a disciplinary process that's laid down by the Ministry of Education, but we are aware that these gangs can have tentacles in schools and that the violence can get really beyond, in some cases, what administrators can deal with," he argued. 

The commissioner's update follows the start of the 2022-2023 school year on September 5. 

Anderson was speaking with reporters on Thursday following a closed-door meeting where he was briefed by the head of the Westmoreland police division, Senior Superintendent Wayne Joseph, on the operational plan to respond to the spate of murders in the area. 

That briefing was triggered by the death of three people who were among seven shot by criminals in three separate incidents on September 7. 

- Albert Ferguson

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