The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

and EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporters

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said he is prepared to station police officers within schools to strengthen safety.

His comment in the House of Assembly came after a stabbing incident at AF Adderley Junior High School left a male student in hospital and two other students in police custody.

 Mr Munroe said the incident may be gang-related.

He was responding to Marco City MP Michael Pintard who criticised the Davis administration for not involving the Free National Movement in matters of national significance. Mr Pintard said the government has demonstrated a lack of urgency in dealing with rising violent crime rates.

 Mr Munroe said: “At the relevant time, the urgency of what is happening in this country caused me to be out of this chamber, addressing a stabbing in a government maintained school. And so any talk of lack of urgency on the part of this government is just simply disingenuous and is the sort of comment and behaviour that gives one pause for permitting the other side to be intimately involved in the inner workings of your government.

 “It’s one thing to talk about we’re going to work together and then in your words and actions do quite the opposite. And, yes, there was a stabbing at the A F Adderley School involving two young men who police intelligence say may be involved in a gang other than a good gang … but certainly the commissioner, deputy commissioner and I stand ready to put police into the school and obviate the debate we used to have about whether police should be in the school. I trust that that is urgent enough for Marco City and St Barnabas.”

 He said these types of problems are the result of years of festering issues.

 “We got here as we have said continuously. From my 30 years at the Bar I’ve continuously, having spoken to these people, said that they are products of our society. I do not change on that,” he said.

 Mr Munroe said there are easy avenues available for the opposition to access him and discuss important issues.

 “Many people have had courtesy calls on me as minister, a whole heap of them,” he said. “I’ve not had one request for a courtesy call from the opposition and so for them to say that they are willing to help, my brother, it’s a government building. All sorts of people have courtesy calls on me where you can discuss anything you wish. Whenever you get serious, you can call me, not my PA and arrange a time where you can come.”

 The student who was stabbed was in stable condition up to press time.

 Director of Education Marcellus Taylor said the student was stabbed in the back and was taken to hospital.

 “As far as we know, he left fully conscious and so we don’t think the stab (wound) was life threatening,” Mr Taylor told this newspaper. “The police were on the scene immediately after it occurred and they apprehended the other two students involved and they were conducting their investigation. That’s all I can tell you at this time.”

 Last May, a stabbing incident at Government High School left an 11th grader dead and another student in serious condition in hospital.

At the time, police could not say if the matter was gang-related or not.

 Asked if officials were concerned about gang activities on campus, Mr Taylor said this is a concern whether it involves students or members of the wider community.

 “As a citizen, we are concerned about gang activities wherever it is — whether it is in the school or in (the) community.”

 He added: “The school campus is our jurisdiction and so we pay particular attention to it on the school campus, but I’m just making the greater point that this is a problem that is all throughout our country and all of us as Bahamians should be concerned about it and what it is that (could) be done to mitigate it.”

 He said there are existing initiatives to help students, including after school activities.

 “We have various programmes in our schools, including the formal curriculum that includes subjects like religious education. Subjects like health and family life. We have assemblies and all these are designed to teach children about the values and attitudes that they must have. A lot of our content (has) critical thinking, you try to help people to understand how to resolve conflict, how to act intelligently.”