Commanding Officer for the St Elizabeth Police Division, Superintendent Coleridge Minto, says there has been no report of any major incident or disturbance at schools across the parish since the start of the 2024/25 academic year on September 2.

Addressing the monthly meeting of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation in Black River on Thursday, September 12, Minto said the police visited 48 schools during the first few days of the new year to ensure safe environments for students and staff.

He credits the seamless start to several initiatives implemented by the police, particularly work by School Resource Officers (SROs) who have been actively engaging with the institutions.

“Our SROs… have been assisting with devotional exercises, mentorship programmes and initiatives aimed at promoting and establishing our police youth clubs, among other activities,” Minto further informed.

The senior officer said in preparation for the new school year, the parish’s SROs underwent specialised training sessions organised by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Community Safety and Security Branch (CSSB) in Kingston.

He added that these officers are now instrumental in maintaining order and building positive relationships within the schools.

Superintendent Minto told the meeting that the police team attached to St Elizabeth’s arm of the CSSB collaborated with several local organisations on various community initiatives over the summer.

These partners included the Digicel Foundation, Flow, the Police Cooperative Credit Union, and the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS).

The divisional chief indicated that the partnerships played a key role in disaster relief efforts, such as aiding communities impacted by Hurricane Beryl on July 3.

“These various intervention programmes… are part of the overall strategy aimed at crime reduction,” he underscored.