Police, Ministry, Schools, Shops Work Together
“As part of ongoing efforts to address the issue of anti-social behaviour involving schoolchildren in the City of Hamilton, the Bermuda Police Service [BPS], will be working in partnership with the Ministry of Education, private schools and shopkeepers in and around the Washington Mall area of the City of Hamilton with a view to reducing the incidences of anti-social behaviour,” the police said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police [Operations] Martin Weekes stated, “The BPS are aware that it is a small minority of students from schools across the island that are causing these problems and not the majority of students or one individual school. We do not wish to be seen to blame all schoolchildren for the behaviour of a few or one school above others. The BPS will be working with all the schools to identify anyone seen on cameras to be committing offences and to put solutions in place.
A spokesperson said, “Meetings are being arranged with the various stakeholders to discuss additional approaches which can be used to bolster measures which are already in place. Measures already implemented include school visits to talk about the avoidance of negative activity, peer mediation involving our dedicated school’ officer, as well as regular foot patrols within the City of Hamilton particularly in areas such as the bus terminal and Washington Mall, where students tend to gather.
“The Ministry of Education as well as private school administrators have committed to meetings commencing next week to discuss options available.
“However, key to the success of all this is the active involvement of parents. Parents are urged to make every effort to ensure their children are at home within a reasonable time following the dismissal of school and not simply “hanging out” in the city.
“We appreciate some students are involved in extra-curricular activities come the end of the school day which may entail being in the city for some period. The focus should still be on ensuring they are out of the city and making their way home in as short a time as circumstances allow.
“This is a community issue that we are all charged with addressing. Let’s work together to ensure success.”
There seems to an important 5th party missing – parents.
Yes, the primary people responsible for the behaviour of their children. The people who should be held accountable for the behaviour of their children.