BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — Police here have increased their presence in schools in an effort to stem violence among students, with the latest intervention resulting in a 16-year-old boy being charged with illegal possession of ammunition.

Head of the St Elizabeth police, Superintendent Dwight Daley, said the teenager was arrested last Thursday after a 9mm cartridge was found in his possession during a security screening.

“He was about to enter school and his school bag was searched at the gate and the ammunition found,” Daley told the Jamaica Observer last week.

He added that the student’s home was also searched by the police.

The teen is scheduled to appear in the St Elizabeth Parish Court on June 27.

Daley said other offensive weapons and drugs continue to be seized by the police from students.

“Since the start of the year it is the first ammunition we found in the possession of a student. [We] usually [find] knives, icepicks, scissors, lighter, grabba, ganja, cigarettes, and those things,” he explained.

Just two weeks ago, two BB Coke High students were injured following a stabbing incident in Junction.

A video of the incident, which has since gone viral, shows two grade 10 male students in a tussle before wielding what appeared to be knives at each other. One of the students attempted to escape from the other, but was stabbed in his lower back, while other students hurled expletives.

They were charged with unlawful wounding and are to return to court on September 8 following their first court appearance recently. The boys are to meet with a probation officer for mediation.

Daley said under the safe schools programme, nine high schools are being monitored by the St Elizabeth Community Safety and Security Branch.

“Every parish has the safe schools programme with resource officers in these schools to monitor and work with the deans of discipline to ensure that discipline is maintained,” he explained.

He added that the police have also instituted other programmes in schools.

“All of them are towards maintaining discipline and to provide a safe environment for the school community,” he said.

Two school-based police youth clubs (PYCs), Daley said, have been launched at Roger Clarke High and Newell High.

“…Normally, youth clubs are launched within communities, but we also launch youth clubs in the schools,” he said, adding that more PYCs are to be launched across the parish.

Daley also said the police have been monitoring public spaces to reduce loitering among students.

“[We] patrol the plazas, game shops, transportation centres where students loiter and we send them home,” he said, pointing out that there is a 7:00 pm curfew for students.

The police chief said the aim of the various initiatives is to reduce violence among students.

“Our programmes are geared towards preventing those incidents, but if they happen, we investigate. We recommend child diversion [system] to them, so as not to get them into the justice system. We want to keep our children out of court as much as possible, but the parties involved will have to agree to be part of the child diversion system,” said Daley.

“If they don’t agree, then we send the matter straight to court, and even if it goes to court the courts can still recommend it to the child diversion system,” he added.

Additionally, the police have also been implementing programmes to reduce gang activity in schools.

“…Boys have a way to group up and they will take away lunch money from other students, fight them or bully them,” he said. As such, the police have sought to use the life experience of an ex-convict, who has changed his life, to encourage students to stay away from violence.

“We take that person into the schools to talk to the boys as well and try to dissuade them from getting involved in gangs, so that is another proactive measure that we employ,” he said.

Daley said with the help of community and business leaders, students are enrolled in the behaviour modification programme.

“Summer is coming up, and it is usually held between August and July each year… We engage the students in lecturers and other programmes to help change their behaviour and assist them in dealing with conflicts,” he said. “Remove the aggression from the children.”