Hanover police aiming to make the 2024-2025 academic year a safe one

Western Bureau:

With the safety of the nation’s children fast becoming an issue of major concern, for the 2024-2025 academic year, the police in Hanover will be taking a proactive step to stamp out indiscipline while seeking to create a layer of extra protection around students.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Andrew Nish, the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) commander for the Hanover division, told The Gleaner that his team has all the schools in the parish strategically covered.

“We were out in our numbers on the first day of school and our school resource officers were deployed, and of the 40 schools within the division, approximately 30, were physically visited by our team,” said Nish.

While there was a demonstration by public passenger vehicle (PPV) drivers in Green Island, who peacefully protested against the poor state of the roads, Nish still considered the first day of school incident-free, which he sees as setting the right tone for what he is expecting for the remainder of the year.

“That peaceful demonstration did not cause much disruption, as the taxi drivers who withdrew their services were peaceful,” said Nish. “They were spoken to, they got some assurances, and so things did not escalate, and everything soon went back to normal.”

SCHOOLS IDENTIFIED FOR ATTENTION

Based on the preparatory work done by the police as a part of their pre-planning ahead of the start of the new school year, Nish said two of the parish’s six high schools were identified for specific attention under the Ministry of Education’s School Resource Officer programme and, as such, meetings were held between the police and the respective principals and deans of discipline.

“Special attention will be given to those two schools,” said Nish, who wants the parents and guardians of the students to partner with the police to ensure that the goal of having a peaceful school year is achieved.

“We want the parents and guardians to teach the children to be respectful at all times, and to also ensure that they are aware of the children’s whereabouts at all times,” said Nish.

He is also urging parents and guardians to make prompt report to the police whenever they are not aware of their children’s whereabouts or are having issues that might require their intervention.

While Hanover is considered a safe parish in comparison to the neighbouring parishes of St James and Westmoreland, over recent years, criminals have been targeting the parish, which they consider a safe haven, and have been taking their corrupting influence there.

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