May Pen police steps up fight against gangs in schools

The Community Safety and Security Branch of the May Pen Police Station stepped up its outreach in schools during the country's observation of Anti-Gang Week - a national initiative put on by the counterterrorism arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey.

Some of the schools visited were Denbigh High, Bethel Academy and May Pen Academy.

Sergeant Kerry-Ann Maylor Wallace and Constable Dwayne Willlie of the Community Safety and Security Branch, May Pen, sensitised students on what gangs are all about, signs of gang involvement, the impact of being in a gang, how to avoid it, how to quit, and the penalties for being in a gang.

Among the students who participated in the session at Bethel Academy was Shemoy Smith, who, although not part of any gang, was an ardent ganja smoker.

His bad habit got him kicked out of a traditional high school and seeing him getting a second chance at Bethel.

TURNING POINT

A video which surfaced of him indulging in the smoking of ganja again caused him to face the possibility of being expelled from Bethel, and that, according to the teen, proved to be the turning point in his life.

"I found out that smoking was taking me down a path that I didn't want to go," he said, sharing that he got started in the first place after experimenting with the drug one day and liking it.

That proved to be a habit that almost cost him his future.

"I knew it would affect my parents to see me being expelled from two schools. When I thought about it, if I left school without an education, my chances of getting ahead are going to be slim," said Smith.

Even as he took in the session, Smith shared that he has been campaigning all on his own, reaching out to his fellow students at the school, telling them that gangs and bad habits are definitely not cool.