Tighten security in schools

There is a view that simply having one lone security guard in local schools, is not enough.

Chairman of the Caribbean Association of Security Professionals, Oral Reid was quoted as making this recommendation this week, during “The Time is Now: The Violence Must Stop” meeting held at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology, which was hosted by President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), Sean Spencer, and his executive committee.

Reid is stated in the press as saying, that under ideal circumstances, there should be three security officers, or a minimum of two, noting that there should be someone controlling the entrance to the facility and one who is patrolling and giving support to teachers or students who need assistance.

Indeed, this recommendation may need to be considered in more depth, given the open nature of our school plants and the fear that students may be able to stash weapons on the compound, pass through scanner devices that check for weapons and retrieve those stashed weapons at a later date. There is also the fear that violence in schools could escalate, given recent occurrences and the latest which saw a student being fatally injured, by another student.

That said, it must be noted that any security guards posted must be able to command some respect from the school population, as at present, there are some guards, and some of them are females, whose words have no effect on students and even some parents visiting schools, who wish to do they like, because they do not have that commanding, authoritative factor. We all know for example that whilst there are some persons who may get a bid wordy with a member of the Royal Barbados Police Force, they will by no means risk the same behaviour when confronted by a soldier of the Barbados Defence Force. It is the same concept. The guards sent to the schools must be able to have a presence that suggests they mean business and they must have the necessary authority to act, when push comes to shove.

Now Reid has also suggested security audits or risk analysis should be carried out at schools across the island. This has some merit and can be considered.

We really need to do what we can to beef up and tighten security in our schools. Though some are of the view that the horse has already bolted from the stables and that a number of measures to come may be reactionary, we cannot just throw our hands up in the air and do nothing. So the time to act is now, to do what we can to curb this longstanding issue of violence in schools, that seems to be escalating. We cannot afford to lose any more of our youth to school violence and a multi-sectoral approach may be needed, to really drill down to the root causes and to truly address the issue. Principals and teachers will feel safer, students will feel safer and parents will also take some comfort in knowing that key officials are working to address the issue. If we explore all options and chose the best ones, rather than simply discussing the issue for a few days until the next hot topic comes up. We can no longer pay lip service to the issue of violence in schools, but we must act decisively, to nip this societal cancer in the bud.