WESTMORELAND, Jamaica – The Ministry of Education and Youth is rallying the nation to unite in the crucial mission of reducing gang influence on Jamaica’s youth and redirecting them towards alternative positive paths.

The call came from the Ministry’s Acting Director of Safety and Security in Schools Unit, Richard Troupe, who spoke on behalf of Portfolio Minister Fayval Williams during the recent Anti-Gang Week Church Service at the Savanna-la-Mar Seventh-day Adventist Church in Westmoreland.

He underscored the importance of providing a countermeasure to gangs that seek to undermine the value of education as well as good citizenship in Jamaica.

“Ending violence or eliminating gangs from schools is a task for all of us. We all have vital roles to play as parents, caregivers, church, community leaders and mentors,” Troupe outlined.

He added that only through collective actions will Jamaica see a significant reduction in the number of gangs and related violent incidents in schools and the society as a whole.

The recently published National Assessment of Perception of School Safety and Security 2023, done across 331 primary and secondary schools, revealed that approximately 62 per cent of students do not report knowledge of their peers who are gang members.

It indicated, further, that 20 per cent of students know youngsters in their schools who are members of gangs, and, additionally, that students are three times more likely to experience elements of gang culture in their schools, whether directly or indirectly.

“We can acknowledge that the majority of young people are not involved in violence or gangs. However, the relatively small number of young people who are, have a disproportionately large impact on the perception of their schools and communities,” Troupe explained.

“Therefore, our continuing collective approach must be a wide-ranging focus on prevention, implementing appropriate responses to infractions, empowering our parents, partnerships with other agencies and providing support,” he added.

The National Assessment of Perception of School Safety and Security 2023 was a collaborative undertaking of the Education Ministry, the Citizen Security Secretariat of the Ministry of National Security, and the Planning Institute of Jamaica.

Anti-Gang Week 2023 was observed from November 5 to 11 under the theme ‘Gang nuh Cool. Stay in school’.

It was an initiative of the Ministry, through its Safety and Security in Schools Unit, in collaboration with the Jamaica Constabulary Force Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch and Community Safety and Security Branch.

– JIS