By CHESTER ROBARDS
Tribune Senior Reporter
crobards@tribunemedia.net
MINISTER of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage yesterday decried the number of juveniles who are engaged in committing major crimes.
Speaking to a group of students during an Urban Renewal Youth Empowerment Seminar at Evangelistic Temple, Dr Nottage urged that they create positive paths for themselves, despite what their friends are doing.
He said far too many schoolage children are being arrested for crimes such as armed robbery, robbery, unlawful sexual intercourse and housebreaking.
He cited statistics from 2009 which revealed 202 juvenile boys had been charged with various criminal offences.
And he revealed that in 2010 the number charged had climbed to 268. Dr Nottage told the children that the school policing programme had found that far too many kids were still bringing weapons to school and some were claiming to be gang members.
He said he spoke to two boys who had been brought in to the guidance counsellor’s office at their school for carrying a knife and a screwdriver.
“They were concentrating on carrying weapons,” he said. “We tried to speak to them, their faces were all twisted up as if they could frighten us.”
Dr Nottage also told the students a story of a boy who brought marijuana to school to show his friends and subsequently revealed to school police that “daddy has a lot more at the house”.
He told the children to stay out of trouble and focus on school, adding that Urban Renewal centres were there to help them if they needed them.
He added that Urban renewal has been central to police intelligence gathering and that his constituency is presently benefiting from a 40-day clean-up campaign spearheaded by Urban Renewal.
Comments
John 11 years ago
When you have a social/education system that dumps youngsters on to the streets with no job, no income and grades that tell them they are failures what do you expcet to happen to them? Unless we set in place a plan that institutionalises out youth (both males and females) and at least moniters them from the ime they leave high school until they turn 21 then we will continue to lose them. When then Prime Minister suggested this many years ago he was ridiculed and his plan was scoffed at...NOW is the time to go dust it off and put it into action!
john33xyz 11 years ago
Dr. Nottage, why don't you just say that a discussion of how students behave in school "ought not be necessary" just like you did about how police treat suspects in custody? Aren't student told how they OUGHT to behave? Why discuss it?
Let the police beat prisoners to death or near death, and let students carry weapons and kill each other.
A discussion of both problems "ought not be necessary". Just keep smilin' and cullekin' your paycheck man.
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