Police clamp down on rowdy students

At least one student had to be taken into the care of the police on March 21, after becoming intoxicated at a party held at Club 28, which was dubbed the “Official After-party” of the recently concluded Inter-Secondary Schools Championships at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex.{{more}}

Shortly after 6 p.m., members of the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) and Criminal Investigations Department (CID), intervened and closed down the party, which was said to be attended by scores of students from around the country.

Speaking on the Police Public Relations Department “On The Beat” program on NBC Radio on Monday night, Inspector Hawkins Nanton said they believe that a “breakdown” in parenting contributed towards the situation.

“We believe that there is a breakdown in parenting, as well as other social behaviours that are considered to be the norm,” Nanton said.

Speaking to SEARCHLIGHT, Nanton said the party was targeting secondary school students who would have attended the sports meet earlier that day.

“We got intelligence that this party was supposed to start at about 6 p.m. and it was primarily targeting that audience…”

According to Nanton, the police officers went to the club, located in upper middle street and within 10 minutes after the party commenced, orders were given to stop proceedings.

“We were told that a number of students were on the inside, as well as a large number of patrons, who are believed to be under 18, were outside awaiting to enter,” Nanton said.

Nanton added that the police also saw what was believed to have been alcohol in the glasses of some of the students.

“We spoke to the management and brought an abrupt end to the party,” he said.

“We even had to bring in an intoxicated young female and kept her for safe keeping overnight and had her parents and principal come to the headquarters the following day,” Nanton said.

As far as the On the Beat program is concerned, Nanton told SEARCHLIGHT that they wanted to sensitize parents to what happened last week.

He said they believe that some parents may not have known about the incident.

It is his hope that some measures will be put in place to curb the situation, as well as reducing such incidents in the future.

He noted that alcohol is another gateway for doing hard drugs and some young people becoming even psychologically and physically dependent on these drugs.

Nanton further added that there seems to be a “breakdown” in the moral values and said they are “sensing” that it is a developing problem.

“We are hoping that the parents and wider sector of society can take up the matter… They (parents) have to be more vigilant where parenting is concerned… It just shows that parents need to have dialogue with their children, where they encourage them to take ownership of their behaviour and not to fall to peer pressure,” Nanton urged.

Had the police not intervened at the time they did, Nanton believes that things could have led to public disorder.

“We want to remind young people that they have to remain positive and not to get involved in the consumption of alcohol as this leads to a series of other problems,” Nanton implored.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, in a release on March 21, disassociated itself from the events.

The release states that the Ministry of Education is aware of the two activities being advertised as ‘After-Parties’ and ‘Official After-party’.

The ministry said, while it has no control over the staging of activities by private individuals or entities, it is alerting parents and guardians to ensure that they are aware of the whereabouts of their children, following the Inter Secondary Schools Athletics Meet.

According to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, there was no alcohol being served at the event.

The source added that about 20 minutes after the party started, the police came and closed the place.

The source also added that there were also a large number of students waiting outside of the venue to gain entrance to the party.

When contacted, manager of Club 28 Carlos Williams declined to comment on the matter.