JCF sharpens focus on student safety ahead of new school year

Jamaica’s school resource officers are preparing for the new academic year with a focus on early intervention, not simply putting more police at school gates.

On the Force for Good Podcast, National Safe Schools Coordinator Sergeant Andrew Williams and Sergeant Kester Fennel of the St Catherine North Community Safety and Security Branch described how officers will reconnect with students and identify risks early.

Williams urged parents to contact the officer assigned to their child’s school when students face threats, bullying, peer pressure or other challenges. “Your school resource officer is there for you,” he said. Officers can then work with deans of discipline, guidance counsellors and school administrators to decide how to respond.

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Your school resource officer is there for you.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force is also focusing on preventing gang recruitment in schools. Fennel said officers will watch for behaviours and group formations that could indicate emerging gang influence. “We recognise that preventing them from recruiting new members, especially from our schools, is absolutely important,” he said.

Where concerns arise, officers will work with school staff and parents and may connect students with mentorship programmes. Their work will continue outside school grounds through monitoring known loitering areas, addressing truancy and maintaining mentorship activities after school hours.

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We recognise that preventing them from recruiting new members, especially from our schools, is absolutely important.