…Commander stresses lack of support from welfare dept
Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Chairman Renis Morian has voiced concerns over several issues regarding schoolchildren for which he has sought the cooperation of E Division (Linden-Kwakwani) Commander Fazil Karimbaksh.
According to Morian, he is concerned about the resurgence of school-based gangs as well as students imbibing alcoholic beverages at bars, in addition to those who distribute or sell such beverages to students.
The Regional Chairman also pointed out that he was particularly concerned about these issues, more so since schools across the country would be closed for the holidays on December 15, noting that these practices were noticeable at such time. Recently, the Regional Chairman hosted a discussion with officials, where these issues were highlighted, and measures explored. During a policing presentation hosted by Karimbaksh, Morian also signalled his intentions to work along with the school’s welfare department and Police.
“You know what happens, we got children on the streets, at the bar places imbibing. You have others who are sharing alcohol to children. We want to … put systems in place to involve the school welfare, so that we can have these children off the streets…,” the Regional Chairman told officials.
With regard to the situation, the Division’s Commander had, however, pointed out issues in working effectively alongside the school’s welfare department in dealing with issues regarding students. As such, he called for more cooperation from the department, emphasising the role of the Police and the department in working collaboratively in relation to such issues.
“Of recent, we would have observed that when we make the arrangements and crunch time would have arrived, the schools welfare department is withdrawing and they’re leaving the Police alone … we’ve had different cases where the schools welfare department withdrew and left the Police … and we’ve had confrontations with the students where the children assaulted the Police…,” Karimbaksh related.
The Divisional Commander, in calling for more cooperation, noted that he did not wish to see a recurrence of this, as he stressed that the Police’s function is to support the schools welfare department with regard to dealing with such issues concerning schoolchildren.
