By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

VIOLENCE in schools has been on the decline this academic year with officials crediting the re-introduction of the school policing programme.

Director of Education Lionel Sands said anecdotal evidence suggests the number of incidents has decreased marginally.

Mr Sands said: “We’ve seen a decline in the incidences happening in our schools over the last several months actually starting from September of last year up to June of this year, where the number of incidences have not been as frequent as in the past and so that would suggest to us that there has been an impact with the police on the school campuses.

“I wouldn’t say it’s very significant because there are certain schools where you don’t have this even without police, there are certain schools where [incidents] do not happen.”

Mr Sands said the drop in violence could also be attributed to a “beefed up” security system, with both government-hired guards and private firms.

He said: “There is also an impact where [school security] are more diligent in what they are doing with respect to students coming in on the school campuses and the bag searches. Constant searches of the perimeter of the school, because obviously there are students who are able to get weapons in the school compound by going around the perimeter of the school, and dropping them over the fence and then once they get inside they are able to go and collect these weapons, and so the constant monitoring of the perimeter of the school by the security has also reduced the incidences of violence because then the weapon is not available to the student.”

Incidences of theft and vandalism to public institutions have also dropped, Mr Sands said, as the ministry moved to implement the use of CCTV cameras.