The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

SCHOOL dropouts are directly linked to criminal behaviour, Assistant Commissioner of Police Chaswell Hanna said, revealing that every murder victim aged 18 or younger in 2025 had left school.

Thirteen of the 16 people in that age group charged with murder that year were also dropouts, he said, as he urged parents to make sure their children get ready and go to school each day.

He said the School Resource Officer (SRO) programme would continue to strengthen partnerships between school policing, the Ministry of Education's attendance or truancy unit and programmes that can prevent students from dropping out.

Police also raised concern about drug incidents on public school campuses, which have more than tripled in a year, with marijuana-infused edibles singled out as a particular worry. The rise comes even though overall school incidents have fallen 48 percent since SROs were reintroduced.

Police data show drug-related incidents rose from three in spring 2025 to eight in fall 2025 and 10 in spring 2026. The rise reverses a broader decline that had seen drug incidents fall from 17 in spring 2023 to nine in fall 2023 and two in spring 2024, before five were recorded in fall 2024.

ACP Hanna urged parents to check their children's school bags before they leave for school and again when they come home.

"You will be surprised to know what they have in that bag," he said.

The rise in drug cases stands against significant reductions in other offences since SROs returned to public school campuses in the 2022/2023 academic year.

Knife possession has fallen considerably, with 35 incidents recorded in fall 2023 compared with 14 in spring 2026. Stabbings fell from 15 in fall 2023 to three in spring 2024. None were recorded in fall 2024 or spring 2025, while one was recorded in each of the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters.

Assaults and fights have also declined. Police recorded 91 fights in fall 2022 compared with about 27 in fall 2024, and the number has stayed below 30 for the last four academic semesters.

Officials credited the broader improvement in school safety not only to SROs but also to school security officers, crossing guards and cooperation among teachers, administrators and union officials.