President Ali warns of rising gangs, vaping, cyberbullying, youth violence

…calls for parenting revival, urgent national response

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Wednesday issued one of his strongest warnings yet about the state of Guyana’s youth, declaring that school-based gangs, cyberbullying, vaping, and changing social values pose serious long-term risks to public safety if left unaddressed.
Speaking at the opening of the Annual Police Officers’ Conference at Eve Leary, Georgetown, the President said the country can no longer afford to treat youth crime, school violence and domestic abuse as isolated policing issues but must confront them as national social emergencies requiring prevention, education and community responsibility.

“We have to bring down the murder rate. We have to deal with the growing gangs in our school system. We have to deal decisively with domestic violence and every crime against women,” President Ali said.
He warned that incidents of school violence circulating on social media are evidence of a deeper problem developing among young people.
“Let us not be shy about this situation in our schools… you’re seeing the video on social media. It’s all over the world. This is not a Guyana problem. This is a global problem. We have to design a programme to deal with it, to start in the school system,” he said.

Panic alert system
The President announced that the Government is working to introduce a panic alert system for schools, teachers, students, and vulnerable women, using technology already deployed internationally.
“We are working now with a technology provider to give us a technology that we can share with at-risk women and at-risk schools, which includes a panic system that would allow for more effective support to schools, teachers, parents, and women,” he explained.
According to President Ali, the system, already in use in Mexico, is being examined by the Government’s technology advisors and will be implemented locally.
He stressed that such support systems are especially necessary given the gender makeup of the education sector.
“Almost 90-plus per cent of our teachers are women… I went to a school last year; 100 per cent of the staff were female. We have to support them,” the President said.

Digital threats, vaping
Apart from physical violence, President Ali warned that young people are increasingly exposed to digital threats.
“We also must confront the new and evolving threats of the digital age. We are seeing in Guyana cyberbullying, online fraud,” he said, warning that such behaviour causes serious psychological and social harm.
The President also raised alarm over vaping, describing it as a growing and underestimated threat to youth development.
“I’ve seen situations where in my heart I believe some people are normalising vaping. Vaping has an enormous impact on the development of the brain and mental health issues,” he cautioned.

Strong parenting values
President Ali said confronting these challenges requires a return to strong parenting values, not just within households, but across communities.
“Parenting is not only the mother and father… it is where the community delivers parenting for the children of that community, where the elders in the church, in the mosque, and in the temple deliver parenting for the children in those institutions,” he said.
He also called for comprehensive public education on sexual violence and consent, beginning in schools.
“We have to launch a massive public education on issues surrounding rape and what constitutes rape, starting from the school system, the secondary school system,” the President stated.
Highlighting the broader social pressures affecting young people, President Ali described youths as a high-risk group shaped by economic change and shifting values.
“While this is a high-risk cohort, it is also a group with the greatest potential for redirection. If we fail to engage them, we run the risk of losing them,” he warned.
He cited examples of young people preferring short-term work and the resulting loss of productivity, noting that in some sectors foreign workers now outnumber locals.
President Ali said structured youth engagement is critical to preventing future crime and instability.
“We need to form youth groups across the country and channel young people’s energy into a more purposeful direction,” he said, adding that mentorship, sports, education, and community involvement must become core components of crime prevention.

Policing alone cannot solve
He added that policing alone cannot solve youth-related challenges.
“Public safety is a shared national project,” President Ali said, calling on parents, schools, faith-based organisations, and communities to work alongside law enforcement to protect Guyana’s future.
Just a few weeks ago, Minister of Education Sonia Parag made it clear that gang-related behaviour and any attempts by groups to form cliques or gangs within schools will not be tolerated under her leadership. She emphasised that students can only grow and succeed in a secure environment, noting that violence disrupts both teaching and learning.
Parag delivered the message during an engagement with students of Zeeburg Secondary School in Region Three, following the circulation of a troubling video that showed a teenage student from the institution being physically assaulted by a group of boys.
During the visit, she addressed concerns surrounding discipline, peer influence, and overall school safety. The Minister challenged acts of disrespect toward teachers and fellow students and warned about the harmful effects of negative peer pressure.
There have been several reported incidents of gangs at local schools over the past months.