What will it take to Effectively Secure our Schools?

In last weekend’s STAR we discussed Timothy Poleon’s Hot Button Issue (his last?) about schoolbag searches conducted by teachers and the potential life-threatening hazards. Poleon’s topic was likely inspired by the firearm incident two weeks ago at Corinth Secondary School. On Tuesday this week another group of teachers and students at the Camille Henry Memorial School were threatened by an individual some have described as a “madman”. He was reportedly threatening children, parents and staff at the school and also attempted to make off with someone’s vehicle.

 The man was overcome by the staff, bound and kept on the premises until the police arrived. In addition to the point made last week, that teachers should not be responsible for protecting themselves and students, questions still stand: How was this man able to enter the school premises? Where was the security in the government-managed school? Just what will it take before the authorities recognize we’re living in especially dangerous times and that they have particular responsibility for the safety of teachers and students during school hours? 

It’s not as if this dangerous invasion is new: worshippers in church have been wounded and killed by people who should not be on the street. School safety involves many players, new policies and laws. However, it starts with understanding what schools face. This reporter sought this week to establish how many of the nation’s schools had security measures in place. The consensus: government must do a whole lot better when it comes to protecting the lives of students and teachers. Some principals said that they “cannot complain” because “we have not had a major incident”. Not surprisingly, some educators placed much faith in the tightness of their communities and “the strong social bonds” in their area.  

Some schools have more protection than others, with CCTV cameras and floodlights. All the schools I contacted had “contracted security guards provided by the government”.  Some are expected to protect the school compounds in the daytime, others after school hours. “But they’re mostly watchies,” one principal revealed. “They are poorly equipped, with no powers of arrest. They undergo no special training. They are unarmed.”

Another principal said she often takes the bull by the horns and reminds watchmen of their responsibilities. “I can’t remember any government providing security training in the first place,” she added. Another principal observed: “It’s one thing to have someone watching out for suspicious situations but quite another when there is an attack by some individual with a gun or a cutlass.”  

Students, teachers and principals have good relationships with their security guards and watchmen but they must face the scary parts of the job together. In 2017 the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School experienced a major overnight burglary. What the invaders did not take with them was rendered unusable. Reportedly, the unarmed guards had to conceal themseleves for fear of being attacked by  the armed burglars. Evidently they never thought to call the police from their safe havens; or were too scared to act or had no cellphones. Later they complained about being “traumatized” by the experience. 

Shortly afterward it was St. Mary’s College that was hit by burglars. Last year a security guard at the Entrepot Secondary School was so badly beaten by intruders that he fell into a coma. So again I ask: Must it take the death of a student or teacher before the authorities wake up and smell the danger in the air?  When will parents demand protection rights on behalf of their children? Now here’s something worth marching for, for a change!