Cops to remove them from school gatesTHEY converge at school gates, their stalls stocked with snacks and other tasty treats. But, according to the police, some of these "school vendors" have been offering a far more dangerous service to their young customers: the "storing" of weapons and other contraband.
"We are finding that vendors — some are good businesspeople — (but) others are holders of contraband. (And) this is where some of the weapons are being hidden for students," Superintendent James Forbes of the Police Community Safety Division told the Observer last week.
The vendors allegedly "keep" the weapons for the students as they go off to classes, and then return them at the end of the day. The most popular weapons left at the school gates are "knives and machetes", one officer told the Observer.
Forbes said the vendors do this to allow delinquent students to avoid detection by School Resource Officers and police personnel who are placed in the schools under the Safe School Initiative. The initiative is part of the Government's thrust to combat the worsening problem of violence in schools.
The superintendent told the Observer that these vendors were "major players" in this illicit activity that has greatly assisted students involved in gang feuds at schools across the island. In fact, Forbes said that when these weapons are handed back to the youngsters at the end of the day they usually figure very prominently in clashes at transportation hubs and other points where students gather — sometimes with deadly consequences.
In October, two students — one in Kingston and the other in St Mary — died in violence involving schoolchildren. Both students were stabbed to death. Head of the St Andrew Central Police Division, Superintendent Derrick Knight, also told the Observer that last month there were reports of around 10 violent clashes among schoolchildren in his division alone.
As a result the police, with the blessing of officials from the Education Ministry, will, in coming months, remove all vendors from school gates initially, after which the schools will decide which of the vendors will be allowed to return, according to Forbes.
Forbes said that discussions had already begun with several schools, the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation and the parish councils on the issue.
"Already, the police have received commitment from several stakeholders to assist with the vendor-removal programme," said Forbes.
But the initiative to remove vendors from school gates is not likely to go unchallenged.
Dunstan Whittingham, head of the Jamaica Vendors, Higglers and Markets Association, told the Observer yesterday that he did not believe the police report of vendors "storing" weapons for students.
"That is a make-believe story," Whittingham said. "We will be seeking a meeting with all the stakeholders, the vendors, the schools and the police to see how best we can [resolve] this matter," Whittingham said.
He argued that a number of vendors had children attending the schools at which they sell and, as such, would not do anything to put students in harm's way.
But Marcia Wilson, who heads the National Parent-Teachers' Association of Jamaica, lauded the plan to remove vendors from school gates as a positive step that would help to curb several of the problems reported at these institutions.
"Parents have been calling for the removal of vendors for sometime as crime and violence has always been an issue," said Wilson.
Additionally, she said that parents were also concerned about children loitering, and were therefore, ready to volunteer to work with the police to ensure that students were removed from the streets after school.
